Dolores Claire (Strozyk) Gain

Dolores Claire Gain

February 11, 1937- May 6, 2024
Bel Air, Maryland

Dolores was born in Jersey City, New Jersey to Anna and Theodore Strozyk, Sr;. Eventually, they would move to a beautiful 10 story apartment building in Brooklyn, New York with a gorgeous view of Sunset Park. Even when she moved to Brooklyn, she wasn’t a Yankees fan. She remained a Brooklyn Dodgers fan through and through, even when they moved to Los Angeles. As the years went on, they would move to Joppa, Maryland where she lived with her 3 siblings, Ray, Ted and Claire.

Dolores attended St. Stephen’s High School in Bradshaw, Maryland where she met, fell in love, and eventually married the love of her life, John (Ray) Gain. Their life together began, and they went on to have 4 beautiful children- Larry, Randy, Dawn and Brenda and raised them in a two story home on Old Eastern Avenue in Essex, Maryland for nearly 30 years. A little known fact about Dolores is that early on in life, she wanted to be a nun, but Ray changed all that.

As the children got older and moved away, Ray and Dolores ultimately went their separate ways, but they always held on to the common goal of keeping the family love and traditions alive. Dolores loved to cook, so she always enjoyed having everyone over for Thanksgiving and Christmas and making way too much food. One of the highlights was waking up on Christmas morning and opening gifts with Kyra and Breanna. New Years Day was always celebrated with Polish perogies and steamed shrimp, and everyone that came over had to eat a piece of pickled herring for good luck. Another beloved memory of Victoria’s is when she would go and spend the day with her Grandmom, where they would talk about what was going on in her daily life, eat and watch movies.

She lived in Bel Air, Maryland for over 25 years where her deep faith and love of God and her family made her extremely happy for many, many years. Her sister Claire, would also move in with her and they kept one another company in her later years.

Dolores worked at Singer, Boyle Buick, The Williamsburg Inn and then retired from Shoprite at the ripe age of 82. She loved to play bingo, crochet, watch John Wayne movies, eat at Red Lobster and Bob Evans, and just enjoy the company of her close knit family, along with her niece Ashley and her great nieces, Destiny and Annabelle.

She is survived by her children Larry Gain, Randy (and Linda) Gain, Dawn (and Wayde) Dixon, Brenda (and Craig) Hancock and her grandchildren, Holly, Krystal, Luke, Kyra, Victoria, Brandon, Tyler, Breanna, Collin, Noah, Hannah and Callan as well as her great grandchildren, Bennett, Jaxon, Maisie, Sage, Grady, Coleson and Wrenly, and many, many nieces and nephews.

In closing, Dolores will always be remembered as an amazing mother who taught her children the skills needed to go on to live productive lives, be loving, forgiving, caring and compassionate, and pass those qualities along so they can share them with their children. She was truly one of a kind, and will be greatly missed, but remembered each and every single day.

There will be no services, but a Celebration of Life will be held in her honor. In lieu of flowers, please tell someone you love them, tell someone you forgive them, give as many hugs to family and friends as you can, and simply show the love, kindness and generosity that Dolores showed, using her examples and following her lead.