Dolores Marie L’HommeDieu of Apollo Beach, Florida, formerly of Calverton, died June 5, 2026, at St. Joseph’s Hospital South in Riverview, Florida. She was 90 years old.
Born Dolores Marie Michels Nov. 3, 1935, in Bay Shore, she was the daughter of Wilbur Russell Michels and Elsie Caroline (Nelson) Michels. She was baptized the following April at St. James and grew up on Hallock Avenue in Smithtown Branch, the oldest of three daughters.
On Feb. 7, 1953, at age 17, she married Richard George L’HommeDieu at Smithtown Presbyterian Church, with the Rev. Raymond Case officiating, followed by a reception at the Sons of Norway Hall in St. James.
The couple began their married life on Terry Road in Smithtown before building a home on River Road in Calverton, where they raised their three children.
At the time she married, Dolores was working at Dow’s Music Mart. She also worked with antiques for many years. Later in life, she became Director of Volunteers for Christian Nursing Hospice, where her work involved finding compassionate volunteers to sit with people who were dying, ensuring that no one had to face the end of life alone and that their needs were met with dignity and care.
For 28 years, she served as president of the Society for Lending Comforts to the Sick, a Smithtown organization that lends hospital and recuperative equipment free of charge to those in the township, and she organized the group’s annual fair and supported its scholarships and assistance to families in need.
In 1992, the Smithtown Chamber of Commerce named her citizen of the year, and in May 2000, she was honored at the Junior League of Long Island’s Volunteer Merit Awards luncheon, with additional recognition from the New York State Assembly, Nassau County and the Town of Hempstead.
After her husband’s death, she volunteered for years at Calverton National Cemetery, where the Department of Veterans Affairs recognized her dedication and commitment.
Her family said she was never comfortable being singled out for her accomplishments and, after a newspaper article about her, wrote to the editor asking that recognition also be given to others who devoted themselves to helping people.
In 2021, she moved to Apollo Beach to be near her son Russell and took a weekly volunteer shift at Calvary’s Angel Attic, the all-volunteer thrift store in Ruskin, Florida whose proceeds support the Community Cupboard food pantry, continuing until she was hospitalized.
Predeceased by her husband in 2010, she is survived by her children, Richard George L’HommeDieu Jr. (Toni) of Georgia, Joyce Noel Barry (Robert) of New York, and Russell Alan L’HommeDieu (Karen) of Florida; nine grandchildren; and seven great-grandchildren.
Interment took place at Calverton National Cemetery.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Calvary’s Angel Attic, c/o Jill Keske, Angel Attic, Ruskin, Florida 33570, with “Angel Attic/Dolores” noted in the memo line, or to the Society for Lending Comforts to the Sick, 71 Blydenburgh Avenue Smithtown, New York 11787.
