Goodbye, Dolores

[Henning]

We received the sad news that our friend Dolores has passed away two days ago.

Dolores did not fully recover from a brain surgery last July and had to stay in hospital ever since and finally lost the battle against the many infections.

Dolores has been an icon among us LC fans.

From the early gatherings in Holland in the Nineties to last years Hydra meet-up, she would never miss any event despite that she hardly could speak any English.

We will miss her thoroughly and those who met her will remember her as the lovely person with the red hat and the big heart welcome hugs !

Her kids and husband will miss her, too.

Goodbye, Dolores.

[jarkko]

This is so sad. Dolores was a very special and unique person in our Cohen community.
Everybody who attended some of our meetings and Events, have warm memories of her
and her joyous meetup hat.

I first met Dolores in 1997 in Holland at the annual Intensity meetup organized by
Bea and Yvonne, and again the year after. In 2000 she participated in our first big
meeting in Montreal. This trip was quite an achievement for a lady who for the first
time travelled so far away from home, alone, and with very limited knowledge
in the English language at that time, but Dolores was such an admirable and
brave person.

After Montreal we met her often at many meetings on Hydra and elsewhere.
In very warm way Dolores became a kind of symbol in the LC community
as a dedicated fan but also as a good friend.

We will miss you Dolores and our warm thoughts are now with your family.

Jarkko and Eija


* * *

Happy memories:



Hydra 2002: Dolores at the reception desk.

Dolores is surprised to see Leonard enter the Green Note Cafe in London in 2007:

[anneporter]

How sad! Dolores was so full of life. And indomitable. It seemed nothing could stop her. It was as though she had a guardian angel looking out for her. Yes, I will miss her, though I didn't know her well....

Condolences to her family and friends.

Anne

[Wybe]

When we received the mail from Henning yesterday evening that Dolores was passed away it was very sad, but not totally unexpected.
After a message like that all the memories came up, to much to write down here, but here are a few.
The first time we attended a Leonard Cohen event was 2002 on Hydra, when we arrived there we had no idea what to expect. Still on the ferry we where directly sure that we came on the right place, be course we saw a women wearing a hat whit a ribbon around it, with big letters Leonard Cohen, that was Dolores. (See the picture in Jarkko's post.)
And after that all the places we went in the world in relation with Leonard Cohen we met Dolores, and we have a lot of wonderful memories of that meetings.
The last year on Hydra, she was not feeling very well. The last night for her on the island we had a dinner with the group in a restaurant “far” from the port. After the diner it was almost to far for her to walk back to the port, Ken and I took Dolores in the middle and so we walked back. During the walk Ken and I learned some new German words “Blode Steine” every time the road went up a little bit.
When we arrived in to port she was happy again, drinking her favorite tea, and singing along with the group. Wen we were singing her favorite song “If it be your will” she was standing up close to the guitarist and sing out loud.
When we walked to our hotels and said goodbye, there was a clear sign that she was not feeling well. She said “I have to look around to remember this beautiful place, this will be my last time here.”


We will mis Dolores,
Our condolences to her family.
Wijbe and Willy

Dolores on Hydra 2011

Dolores and Leonard (London 2007)

[andrea]

Hydra 2005

It is very sad. Dolores was so present in my mind these days that I wanted to call her husband this weekend to ask how she is doing...this with hope and fear .....and now it is too late, when I saw Hennings email this morning i got really very upset ....we will miss her a lot.

She was the very first Cohenite I have met on Hydra at the port in 2002 on my arrival to the Event and she gave me such a heartful welcome.... with her hat on, with the red ribbon saying Leonard Cohen Event on it ......I will never forget her...she has a special place in my/our heart too....
We met her all over the world at the cohen events, concerts, meet-ups, she managed to get everywhere and to talk to everybody even with her little english notion...she was unique , she was Dolores .....

I will light a candle for Dolores today in a church(in Berlin (where I am right now) ....

Goodbye dear Dolores we will miss you ... we are thankful for the time we could spent with you ......rest in peace ....

Our heartfelt condolences to Ulrich , her children and all the family.

with love
Andrea and Marco

[Bill's Bar]

I am very sorry to hear this news.

I met Dolores several times - on Hydra, at concerts and meet ups. She was always full of enthusiasm for life and Len.!

She really was, "one of a kind".

My sympathy goes to her husband and family.

Tony.

[Mabeanie1]

Sadly I never got to meet Dolores as my own ill health and various other factors conspired to keep me away from Hydra and other recent meet ups. However, her smiling face is a very familiar sight from the photographs of the various events and I know she will be sorely missed.

My condolences to her family and her many friends within this community and beyond.

Wendy

[Diane]

Sad news. I met her only once - at the Green Note, and I remember her warm personality and some fun we had on the way to the Barbican:-) It's good to read the stories of those of you who knew her well. RIP Dolores, safe flight.

[Paula]

Really really sad news a unique lady who will be remembered.

[HelenMc]

Rest in peace Dolores.

You & your big smile will be greatly missed.

Slán agus beannacht leat.

Helen & Marian

[Marlene J.]

I didn't know Dolores, nor get the chance to meet her, but this is unbelievably sad, none the less, and I want to offer my deepest condolences to those in the community who knew her, and to her other friends and family. May she rest in peace.

[Sheila]

Such sad news. There will be a big void in future meet ups, Dolores was such an integral part of all LC events. Photos already posted pay a great tribute to Dolores and her warm personality, particularly the one with her open arms welcoming Leonard to the Green Note. Treasured memories of a special lady.

Deepest condolences to her family.

Sheila

[lizzytysh]

When I saw Goodbye, Dolores in the News section, my heart sank.
I had no idea about her operation or that things hadn't gone well, but I knew what it meant, and I felt sick.
Unique, special, indomitable, sweet... all of these fit her. Many more, as well.

Dolores's red hat was her trademark. She was never without it at a gathering of any kind where I saw her.
Red was her colour and you can see it in all these photos, as well... be it her hat or her clothing.
I see that she had taken a black hat and with red marker made it her Leonard Cohen own.
I have memories of people being told how to find where we'd be at Roloi's... being told to just look for Dolores, she'll be the lady wearing the Leonard Cohen hat.
A beacon of identification, where she seemed to be the first to arrive, so others would know where to go.

I remember Dolores's joyful, joyous face, her soft eyes and their soft, warm expression, and the warmth of her smile and easy laughter; even the incredibly soft smoothness, clarity, and glow of her skin. Her face and her flush were so natural and shone out from under her hat like a sweet, young girl who just happened to have been on this earth for a number of years like the rest of us, but whose face had not registered it like most. You may have had to see Dolores in person to see this. Not all the photos here capture all of these descriptive words, but they were all there when you met Dolores. I remember so well being on the other side of those happy, outstretched arms. She wasn't as tall as most, so she was usually reaching up... happy to meet you the first time and clearly overjoyed to see you again. She had a sweet countenance that never left her.

Her singing If It Be Your Will as she did and her last words to Wijbe... bittersweet and sad, and she clearly knew something from the inside.

I remember being at one of our gatherings on Hydra and on one of our day walks, maybe to go see Leonard's house; or maybe in the early evening, en route to the house where Jarkko and Eija were staying, for everyone to gather for a potluck dinner there. She tired from the many steps and, immediately, Miriam took her arm from the left and Willy from the right, and they helped her along, physically supporting her the rest of the way. She was clearly so relieved and grateful.

I can't remember the exact occasion where I realized that Dolores might know more English than I thought, as I wouldn't have expected her to say what she did, and I had been thinking that she knew basically almost literally none. Having struggled with languages in various countries myself, I wondered if it was just simpler and more relaxing for her to go along as though she knew hardly any at all. She had learned the basics, enough to greet and let you know she was happy to see you. Yet, with Dolores, her face and eyes and arms let you know all that, anyway. I wished I knew her language so we could actually converse as friends. She and Ken developed a special, quiet bond and they could often be seen sitting together, both enjoying themselves with each other.

At one of the Events , I found a smallish, collapsible, red umbrella with a black handle. With its colour the bright, solid red she always wore, and the timing of when and where I found it, I became convinced it was Dolores's. It was just a given. I couldn't find her, so held onto it and took it with me the next year to Hydra. I remember bringing it down to the port anxious to give it back to her and telling her that I'd found her umbrella; and was rather shocked and disappointed when she smiled and said something like "No... not mine." I still have it and have never used it, but always think of Dolores when I see it... so, for me, it became Dolores's umbrella and it's hanging behind me as I write.

The most intense memory I have of Dolores was based on her absence. At the New York Event, she did not return to the hotel at anything resembling a reasonable time. It was late, very late, past midnight by a good degree. I was beside myself with worry and knew how with missing persons, the longer an alert takes to go out, the less likely a person is to be found and okay. I was ready to and wanted to call or go to individual rooms of those of us staying there, to find out when the last time was that anyone saw her or did they know where she might be or with whom. Whether it was a phone call or a light knock on the door, I didn't care. I just feared for our Dolores, indomitable, but alone and up against New York City, not knowing English, perhaps vulnerable, too. It turned out we didn't have any kind of a roster as to which participants were staying in what rooms, so it was looking like more people than needed might inadvertently get contacted. I had a plan for asking each person what rooms they knew of where others of us were staying. One of our quiet and responsible members here said no, that this was just something we couldn't do, and that Dolores would be fine and would return on her own okay. I don't remember if I stayed up, but I remember my immense relief that she finally did return sometime closer to 4 AM than not. She had taken the wrong subway and had gone all the way out to Harlem and then back, and after she found the subway she needed, she found her way and made it back to the hotel okay... and she was fine... thank G~d. I remember her laughter at my being so worried and her assurance that she was okay... but she also thanked me. Dolores was certainly able to take care of herself, but she was also someone you wanted nothing to happen to and were willing to do what you could to ensure that it didn't. Thankfully, this just turned out to be a little 'Dolores adventure.'

I know how many of us here wish we could have prevented her absence this time and in our years to follow. I have no idea how old Dolores was; I only know she was far too young and far too vibrant to go.

I will miss your warm, loving, and embracing hugs... and your warm, joyful face... as I attend more concerts, more gatherings, and more Events, Dolores. You were an institution with us. I'm glad and grateful to have met and spent time with you, and I'm so glad for you that you were able to see Leonard perform and to finally meet him. My heart is with you and with your husband and children, the rest of your family, and all of your friends. I know they had to be many... you touched the heart so easily and well... I can only imagine how deeply they will miss you. My deepest condolences to all of you left to be without her.

My love goes with you into the hereafter, Dolores ♥ ... I know you're okay there.
It's only that I wish you were still here. You were unique... truly one of a kind.
You added such a bright spot of soul beauty to our gatherings.

I will miss you, ♥ Dolores ♥


Love,
Lizzy
xoxox

[jarkko]

From Leonard:

I was saddened to hear of the passing of Dolores Nedbalek.
I remember meeting her in London, back in 2007, and how touched I was
by her warmth and enthusiasm.
I know she was loved by everyone in our Community.
Please convey my deepest sympathies to her friends and family.
We bow in gratitude to her memory.
Leonard

[bridger15]

Krakow 2010

I also am saddened to hear this news. I met Dolores at the Krakow Event 2010 and I remember her well as one-of-a-kind who brightened up any grouping. Whenever we were seated near each other, it did not matter that we were unable to have a direct conversation, Dolores communicated superbly in her own personal language of enthusiasm and with her spirit of joie de vivre. Meeting Dolores is a big part of my very fond memories of the Krakow Event.

May I also offer my heartfelt condolences to her family.
---Arlene