Tag Archives: Dolores Bacharach

Remembering Dolores “DoDo” Bacharach

Posted on May 29, 2025 | 4 comments

Dolores Bacharach — known fondly as “DoDo” to generations of Westporters impacted by her broad and deep volunteer efforts — died Monday at her home. She was 97, and had led a long, happy life devoted to others.

She and Jim Bacharach, her husband of 44 years, were engaged in civic and church activities throughout their lives. Their accomplishments include establishing Westport’s first soup kitchen, which became Homes with Hope; helping develop and grow the Intercommunity Camp; and participating in Westport’s Interfaith Council, Senior Advisory Council, and the Social Concerns Committee at Assumption Church.

Jim and DoDo Bacharach

DoDo taught CCD at Assumption, expanded the Assumption School library, led the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults and other outreach programs, was a eucharistic minister, and laundered church linens. 

She followed the example of Dorothy Day, of the Catholic Worker movement. DoDo — who believed in social justice to her core —  was honored with the Saint Augustine Medal of Service in 2005.

After raising 5 children — and being a surrogate mother to many of their friends — she earned a master’s degree in social work at age 60. DoDo worked for Catholic Social Services, and established SAGE Associates, a private social work practice.

She volunteered at Caroline House in Bridgeport, and for more than 40 years cooked and served meals at the Gillespie Center kitchen.

Dolores “DoDo” Bacharach

Her family says: “DoDo loved reading, movies, musical comedy and serious plays, ‘All Creatures Great and Small,’ a glass of white wine with ice, good friends, mint chocolate chip ice cream, a day at the beach, and her children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren.

“She was kindness personified. She was generous with her time and treasure. Over the life of the Intercommunity Camp, she offered her pool and ran the library there. Every neighbor was welcome to swim, and she hosted an annual Christmas Carol Sing.

“She was generous with herself: bringing meals to housebound friends, driving people to church or doctor’s appointments, taking great care of her friend and neighbor, Mary Lou. She loved laughing and sharing a joke.

“There was not a moment when she didn’t think of the person or people in front of her. She greeted everyone she met at the store, the gas station, the doctor’s office, or anywhere else she went with warmth and genuine interest. She really did want to know how you were today. She went out of her way to brighten their day.”

DoDo is survived by her children Ann (Robert), James (Carla), Katharine Hines (William), Charles (Linda) and Jean Burke (David), 13 grandchildren, and 13 great-grandchildren.

A memorial Mass will be celebrated July 19 (11 a.m., Assumption Church). In lieu of flowers, donations to Homes with Hope can be made in her name (PO Box 631, Westport, CT 0688).

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Gillespie Center: 25 Years Of Shelter From The Homeless Storm

Posted on April 23, 2014 | 7 comments

For a place as contentious as Westport — half the town opposed building the playground at Compo, and half thought building a nuclear power plant on Cockenoe Island was just ducky — you’d think putting a homeless shelter in the heart of downtown would ignite World War III.

But you would be wrong.

The Gillespie Center is preparing to celebrate its 25th anniversary this Friday (April 25, 3 p.m., in the courtyard at 45 Jesup Road). Last week, a few of the founding visionaries reminisced.

Gillespie Center - anniversary

What came through loud and clear was this: Moving the shelter from the old Vigilant Firehouse on Wilton Road to a decrepit maintenance shed behind what was then the Fine Arts Theater (now Restoration Hardware) was never an issue.

Not in 1989. Not in the intervening years. And certainly not today. Over a quarter century, the Gillespie Center — the name honors Jim Gillespie, the 1st president of Homes with Hope (then called the Interfaith Housing Association) — has provided housing, meals and hope to thousands of men and women.

And many more Westporters than that have contributed food, setup and cleanup help, equipment and funds to keep that hope alive.

Gathering at the center last week were Marty Hauhuth, 1st selectman from 1985-89; Pete Powell, Homes With Hope president from 1988-2010; Dolores Bacharach, HWH’s 1st vice president and a leader in the establishment of the community kitchen, and current HWH president Jeff Wieser.

Dolores Bacharach and Pete Powell reminisce about the early years of the Gillespie Center.

Dolores Bacharach and Pete Powell reminisce about the early years of the Gillespie Center.

Pete recalled the forces that led to the opening of the 1st homeless shelter in December 1984, at the former firehouse (located in the parking lot between Bartaco and National Hall). That event was debated. But the moral leadership of Reverend Ted Hoskins, Rabbi Bob Orkand and businessman James Bacharach (Dolores’ husband), plus the town support of 1st selectman Bill Seiden, human services director Barbara Butler and David Kennedy, tamped much of the controversy.

A few years later, as Arthur Tauck was redeveloping National Hall into an inn, the move to Jesup Road — catty-corner from the police station — made sense.

Many hands helped make the new 15-bed home possible. (Who knew the toilets were rescued from a home that Phil Donohue was razing?) A 5-bed facility for women — Hoskins Place — was build next to the men’s shelter, when the transit district office moved.

Over the years, the Gillespie Center’s conversion from a beat-up old building to a well-maintained shelter has enhanced the look of the entire area.

The Gillespie Center today.

The Gillespie Center today.

The frontage on Jesup Road near Matsu Sushi, the gardens maintained for years by Jed Ringel and repointing of the brickwork by Brooks Sumberg are visible to all.

Less visible is what goes on inside. But the men and women who seek shelter there — and others who use the very active food pantry — know and appreciate the hard work and tremendous care lavished on the Gillespie Center by many in town over the past 25 years.

Jeff Wieser quotes a friend from Virginia. After touring Homes With Hope’s 10 properties in Westport — the organization supports a lot more than the Gillespie Center — and winding up downtown, he said: “You must be the only town in America with a homeless shelter 2 doors from Tiffany!”

The Gillespie Center  has never lacked for volunteers. (Or — proving that Westport is no different from the real world — clients).

Westporters of all ages volunteer at the Gillespie Center.

Westporters of all ages volunteer at the Gillespie Center.

One of those volunteers was Jim Marpe. Today he’s the latest in a long line of 1st selectmen to support the Gillespie Center. Twenty years ago, he helped stock the pantry, serve meals and clean up.

That’s the kind of support the Gillespie Center has enjoyed for 25 years. If you’re looking for controversy — or a story about an affluent suburb that shunned its homeless — stay away from 45 Jesup Road. You won’t find it there.

All you’ll see are beds, meals, and Westport’s support for our fellow humans, down on their luck.

(For more information on the Gillespie Center and Homes With Hope, click here.)

 

 

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Posted in Downtown, Looking back, Organizations, People

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Saluting Dolores Bacharach

Posted on December 20, 2011 | 9 comments

“In this season of giving,” an alert “06880” reader wrote, “you should highlight Dolores Bacharach.”

Dolores — known to her many friends and fans as “Do” — is indeed a perfect exemplar of a Westporter who gives. And gives. And gives some more.

And has done so ever since she moved to Westport, half a century ago.

So, in terms of a column on Do: done.

Now in her mid-80s, Do has not stopped serving the town.

“Her energy is awesome,” the reader who suggested a profile — Nick Thiemann — wrote. “It would be impressive in a 20-year-old. And she has a grand sense of humor.”

Dolores Bacharach (Photo/Dave Matlow for WestportNow.com)

As a member of the original Commission for the Elderly — now called the Commission for Senior Services — Do started the “We Do Walkways” program, through which middle and high school students provide raking and shoveling services to older citizens.

“She has a generous spirit,” praises human services director Barbara Butler. “There’s always a smile on her face. And she’s a lot of fun to work with.”

Rev. Tom Thorne has been Assumption Church‘s pastor for nearly 13 years. That’s a quarter of the time Do has spent in Westport, but he knows she and her family have been “genuine pillars of the parish.”

Through the Social Concerns Ministry she ministers to people in need — those who are poor, hungry, without transportation or clothing, cold, lonely or homebound. Through events, opportunities and awareness, she helps the entire parish participate in supporting, helping and loving the marginalized.

A daily communicant, she is present at the 7:30 a.m. mass every Monday through Saturday. She also serves as a eucharistic minister.

Do is the parish representative on the Westport-Weston Interfaith Council. “She has left a loving mark within the parish, and the Westport and wider community,” Father Tom says.

“She is truly a woman of faith who is open, inclusive, in possession of great dignity and authenticity.”

Nearing her 9th decade, Do cooks each week at the Gillespie Center. Homelessness has long been a concern of Do and her family. The Bacharach Community — 3 houses on Wassell Lane run by Homes With Hope that serve as emergency housing for women and children — is named for them.

I have known the Bacharachs ever since my own high school days. I served with her late husband Jim on the original Youth-Adult Council. I was there when the Bacharachs were driving forces behind the Intercommunity Camp — an innovative summer program drawing children from Westport, Weston, Norwalk and Bridgeport together for summers of fun and self-discovery.

I was privileged to join Jim, Do and their 5 children — all of whom carry on their parents’ legacy of service to others — in annual Christmas carol sings at their Stony Brook Road home. Each one was filled with the joy of being together with others who value community and action — along with plenty of laughter and love.

“Do makes Assumption and Westport holy,” Father Tom says of Dolores Bacharach.

And, I’d add, she is an unsung hero who makes Westport “Westport.”

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Posted in Looking back, Organizations, People, religion

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