Dorothy Chiesa June 22, 1923 – March 19, 2015

 A Requiem Mass will be held at Saint Mary’s Church in Gilroy Wednesday, March 25, 2015, at 3:00 P.M. Online condolences at habingfamilyfuneralhome.com.
 After a brief illness, Dorothy Chiesa passed away at her home in Aptos.
 Dorothy’s life revolved around her husband, her family and their needs.
 She and Margiorino (Midge) worked very hard for a very long time. She was a full partner in her husband’s farming, followed by his various business endeavors serving as secretary, bookkeeper and haberdasher.
 Dorothy was an active member of Saint Mary’s Mothers Club, Saint Mary’s Parish Council and served on the Gilroy Parks & Recreation Commission. This was all before answering machines, cell phones and computers, so Dorothy made the most of one land line, her typewriter and carbon paper.
 Dorothy was a notorious daily cook as well as producing holiday dinners and Bagna Cauda for as many as could fit in the house.
 Her sewing included everything from family clothes to draperies. She canned and preserved all manner of produce for her family’s year long use. She was also a decent housepainter. To her, anything was possible.
 Dorothy and her husband conducted a very frugal household. Until her last day, she was aghast at what the grocer charged for a red bell pepper and only recently stopped her practice of cutting talcum powder with corn starch.
 In her later years, Dorothy’s day began by reading two newspapers before getting her social and body work out at water exercise, rushed errands on the way home for “there is so much to do” chores and having dinner with family or Little House on the Prairie.
 Dorothy was preceded in death by her husband and her daughter, Marge.
 She is survived by her daughter, Carolyn, granddaughters, Marina and Ronda Sousa, Allison Civiello and great-granddaughter, Nora. Dorothy also leaves behind her beloved nieces and nephews and their wonderful children who made her life worth living.