Dolores Marie Hood Gonos, aged 86, was born and raised in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. She was the daughter of the late Stella Pochmara Hood and David J. Hood. At an early age, Dolores was nicknamed "Tootsie." She was captain of St. Rosalia's basketball team. She had fond memories of her life in Pittsburgh. She met Jim (James) Gonos at Kennywood Amusement Park, and, after a brief courtship and falling in love, they were married in Petersburg, Virginia. They stayed briefly with the Harvanek family before Jim's life in the Navy moved their family to many places on the East Coast. They landed in Virginia and raised their daughter, Linda Anne, there. The family always enjoyed the "salt life," working on and enjoying maintaining a yacht. During this time, Tootsie mastered sewing, knitting, and crocheting, designing belly dance costumes for her daughter, and oil painting. She was also an accomplished cook and canned vegetables that her husband grew on their 5-acre farm in Smithfield. Jim passed away in 2002, after 54 years of marriage. She then came to live in Hampton to be close to her daughter and son-in-law Robert Boone. She had two grandchildren, Justin (fiancé Jenna Ingellis) and Rachel Dymond (husband Thomas), and four great-grand girls: Mya and Madelyn Dymond and Lilith and Evelyn Boone. She was surrounded by this family on her last day of life on January 9, 2018. She is also survived by a sister, Rita Havran (late Robert) of Pittsburgh. A funeral service will be held at 2:00 p.m. on Saturday, January 20, 2018, at the Crater Road Chapel of E. Alvin Small Funeral Homes, 3935 S. Crater Road, Petersburg, VA 23805. Interment will follow in Southlawn Memorial Park, S. Prince George. The family will receive friends Friday night, January 19, 2018 from 6:00 - 8:00 p.m. at the funeral home. Memorial contributions may be made to the Disabled American Veterans, www.DAV.org. Condolences may be registered at www.ealvinsmall.com.
Visitation Details
Friday, January 19th, 2018 6:00pm - 8:00pm
Service Information
Saturday, January 20th, 2018 2:00pm
Interment Details
Southlawn Memorial Park