Dolores J. Tirlea

NORTH LIMA - Dolores Jean Tirlea, 93, passed away Sunday, Sept. 1 at her home at Glenellen Assisted Living. She was born July 9, 1926, in Niles, the daughter of the late Chester and Mary Plant. She was a 1943 graduate of Niles McKinley High School. She began working in the offices of General Electric Co. in Niles while still in high school and continued working there for about seven years. She married Kenneth C. Hofmeister on Oct. 15, 1949. The couple moved to Howland, where Ken, a carpenter, had built a home. They built a home and moved to Niles in 1958. In the 1960's, after their two children started school, Dolores began working as a receptionist and switchboard operator for Allied Metals Co. in Niles. She worked there more than 20 years. Ken Hofmeister passed away in 1979, and five years later, she married a friend and neighbor, John Tirlea. They were married for 32 years, until John's death in 2017. Dolores enjoyed boating, music, knitting, bingo and playing the piano. She was an avid reader and well known to the staff at McKinley Memorial Library, where she was a frequent patron. She also was known to her friends as a fashionable dresser, even in her late years, and loved driving sports cars. At Glenellen, she enjoyed tending the flowers in her apartment and garden, and birdwatching, taking time to feed the hummingbirds. Dolores was a long-time member of St. Stephen Church in Niles. When her children attended the school there, she volunteered in the cafeteria. When Niles was struck by a devastating tornado in May 1985, she volunteered for more than a year with a coalition that helped residents and businesses recover. She is survived by two children, David K. (Mary Lou) Hofmeister of Amelia, Ohio, and Sally L. Hofmeister of Boardman; three grandchildren, Kate Hofmeister of Boyne City, Mich.; Kenneth Hofmeister, of Chicago and Daniel Hofmeister, of Cincinnati; a stepdaughter, Resa (William) Wiseman of Beachwood, two nieces and a dear friend, Judie Prokop of Canton, and her daughter Kathy DeLaat. Calling hours will be from 5 to 7 p.m. on Thursday Sept. 19, 2019 at the Holeton-Yuhasz Funeral Home, 126 W. Park Ave, Niles, Ohio 44446. A private graveside service will be Friday morning at Kerr Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the McKinley Memorial Library, 40 N. Main St, Niles, Ohio 44446 or the Salvation Army.

Visitation

SEP 19. 5:00 PM - 7:00 PM (EDT)

Holeton-Yuhasz Funeral Home 126 West Park Avenue Niles, OH 44446

Graveside

SEP 20 (EDT)

Kerr Cemetery 1240 Salt-Springs Road Mineral Ridge, OH 44440