LUDLOW – Born in Westfield on June 17th, 1925, died on January 23rd, 2024 in Ludlow. Marion was one of five children, and the only daughter of Dr. Richard P. (Doc) 
McCarthy (1881-1958) and Marion Easton McCarthy (1893-1929). Upon their mother’s death, the family moved to Holland Avenue to live with their two aunts and turned their peaceful lives into chaos. Though not destitute by any measure, the family experienced the effects of the Depression and, more directly, the trials of World War II. All four brothers were active in some military capacity, with one (Dan), a parachutist with the 101st Airborne Division, escaping the German Army during the Battle of the Bulge. Marion’s husband, Richard, was a submariner in the Pacific, narrowly escaping the sinking of two submarines on which he served. Marion lived most of her life in Westfield, graduating from Westfield High School in 1942 where she was awarded the school’s prestigious Bronze Tablet. She obtained a B.S. in Chemistry at Mass. State College (now UMass Amherst) in 1946. Upon graduation, Marion worked in a Dover, Delaware chemistry lab before returning to Westfield and working at Stanley Home Products in Easthampton where she became head of the Chemistry Department.
In 1953, Marion married Westfield Atty. Richard T. Dolan. They were married for fifty years until Richard’s death in 2003. Marion and Dick raised their three children in Westfield. In her post-chemistry years, Marion was active in the community, holding posts in several charitable and civic organizations including the Westfield Chapter of the Red Cross, the United Way, Daughters of Isabella and the Westfield Historical Society. She was also involved in local, state and national Democratic Party campaigns, including several for her husband. In 1974, Marion joined her husband’s law firm (Ely-Dolan) as a legal assistant, and quickly became the firm’s estate tax expert as well as an important resource in other areas. Several years after the death of her husband Richard, Marion moved to Providence Place in Holyoke. After years of independent living there, she moved on to Keystone Commons in Ludlow where she died on January 23rd.
Marion is predeceased by her four brothers, Richard, David, Daniel and James and their wives as well as two nephews and a niece.
She is survived by her three children, Ann (Dolan) Mangold of Westfield, Charles E. Dolan and his wife Grace of Ludlow, and James W. Dolan and his wife Mary of Southington CT. She also leaves six grandchildren and one great-grandchild: Meghan Dolan Leahy (Stephen), Kace Dolan (Heather), Elise Dolan, Michael Dolan (Elise) and their daughter Elizabeth, Matthew Dolan, and Sarah Dolan. She is also survived by three generations of nieces, nephews and their children and grandchildren.
A wake for Marion will be held at Firtion-Adams Funeral Home, 76 Broad Street, Westfield, from 10:30 to 12:00 on Thursday, February 1st, followed by a funeral Mass at 12:30 p.m. in St. Mary’s Church, 30 Bartlett Street and a Liturgy of Christian Burial in St. Mary’s Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to Shriners Hospital for Children, 516 Carew Street, Springfield, MA 01104. www.firtionadams.com
