Roy Burks Dooley, 92, of Leonardtown, MD passed away peacefully on November 24, 2023, at Taylor Farms Assisted Living in Bushwood, MD.
He was born on August 20, 1931 in Goode, Virginia to the late William Hilton Dooley and Anne Odell Robertson Dooley.
Roy grew up in the Virginia Blue Ridge Mountains farm country surrounding the Roanoke/Montvale area where he and his 13 siblings worked the family farm. Roy served active duty in the Army between 1948-1949, as a Longshoreman-Rifle Marksman at Fort Lawton in Washington State. He received an honorable discharge, due to being a minor eagerly enlisting early, he was flown back to the East Coast. Roy with his late brother William began work as Linemen for The Cofer Company, running electric lines between La Plata and Leonardtown. It is in Leonardtown where Roy met his beloved wife, Roberta “Bertie” & they were married in October 1952. Roy continued working as a contracted lineman at Patuxent River Naval Air Station and eventually he and Bertie opened & ran their own family business, Dooleys Furniture and Upholstery on Duke Street in Leonardtown. They raised their 6 children and ran their retail business for over 40 years, celebrating 57 years of marriage before Bertie’s passing in 2009. After her passing, Roy continued his daily routine until his dementia diagnosis in 2020. He then resided at Taylor Farms Assisted Living in Bushwood, Maryland for three years. During visits he would insist on car rides, reminiscing of his past, and driving around to look at his former home and place of business in Leonardtown to see all the changes. One thing that never changed with Roy was his love for sweets, especially ice cream.
Roy is survived by his children Mary Ann Jarczynski (Jim) Myrtle Beach, SC, Bonnie Lynn Zimmerer (Steve) York, PA, Michael Alan Dooley, Jessup, MD, Jennifer Gale Hudson (Matt) Kissimmee, FL, and Stacey Lee Dawson (Doug) Ocean Isle Beach, NC; his eight grandchildren and six great-grandchildren; his brothers Russell Dooley, Bill Dooley, Hilton Dooley and Bobby (AKA Brother) Dooley and extended friends and family. He is preceded in death by his loving wife Roberta Ann Miedzinski Dooley, his parents, his two sisters, seven brothers and his son Stephen Roy Dooley.
The family will have a Graveside service on December 9, 2023 at 12:00 p.m. at Charles Memorial Gardens, 26325 Point Lookout Road, Leonardtown, MD 20650.
In lieu of flowers, please consider donations to Taylor Farms Assisted Living Bushwood, MD or Hospice of Southern Maryland.
Condolences to the family may be made at www.brinsfieldfuneral.com.
Arrangements by the Brinsfield Funeral Home, P.A.
