Dolene Waples Turk passed away peacefully in her home in Vacaville on November 20, 2022 with her daughter Katherine and husband Gary of 47 years at her side. Dolene was born on September 5, 1949 to A.B. and Dollie Waples in San Pedro, CA. She spent her early childhood years in Redondo Beach, and then moved to Fresno with her family while in the first grade. Dolene graduated from McLane High School in Fresno, and went on to Fresno State where she was a member of the Alpha Xi Delta sorority, and earned a Bachelor’s degree in English. During her college years, Dolene was crowned Miss Fresno County, and competed in the Miss California pageant. Dolene had a magnificent voice and was an accomplished pianist, and she thoroughly enjoyed both singing and playing the piano throughout her life. When Katherine was a toddler, Dolene decided that she wanted to become an elementary school teacher and so she enrolled in the teaching credential program at Cal State Fullerton and began her teaching career in the Pomona Unified School District. In 1990, Gary’s company transferred the family to the Bay Area and they settled in Vacaville. Dolene spent many years teaching GATE, 1st grade, kindergarten, and 4th grade in the area for Vacaville Unified School District, Bethany Lutheran School, and finally TUSD where she retired from Travis Elementary. In her retirement, Dolene joined Beta Sigma Phi where she enjoyed being an active member of the local chapter and made many friends. Dolene also very much enjoyed being an active member of her church where she also played the organ for services, and played the piano and sang in the choir. Dolene was diagnosed with stage 4b Ovarian Cancer in January of 2018 and defied the odds by surviving nearly 5 years before she finally lost her battle. In the last few years of her life, Dolene found true joy in being Grammy to Coco and Beau. If you were lucky enough to know Dolene, you knew that she had a voice that filled the room and that her laughter was contagious. She was witty, sarcastic, and was often getting into trouble for being the “kid in the back of the classroom” that was talking too much. She was so loved by her many friends and family and will forever be missed. Dolene was preceded in death by her first baby Douglas, sister Audyne, and mother and father Al and Dollie. She is survived by her husband Gary, daughter Katherine Linné (Rob), and granddaughter and grandson Colette and Beau Linné.
