Juliet Dorland, 86, of Waldoboro, died on Nov. 29 at Chase Point Assisted Living in Damariscotta after a brief battle with complications arising from breast cancer.
She was born on Feb. 15, 1929 in Queens, N.Y. and grew up during the depths of the Great Depression. Her father, Cornelius Doyle, was the son of an Irish immigrant, and her mother, Flora Octavia, was born in Naples, Italy, and arrived in New York as a young girl.
Juliet had an older brother, Robert, an older sister, Eileen and a younger brother, Neil. She shared many memories from those trying times, including the night when all her mother could cook was one potato for each child-she made each one to order. She also told of getting a single doll for Christmas, a hand-me-down from her older sister.
The family made it through the depression, and Juliet graduated from John Adams High School in Queens, N.Y., in 1944, towards the end of WWII.
At John Adams, she had been voted class artist, a fact that she was very proud of. She soon found work as a secretary at Henry Holt & Company, the publishing firm. She fondly remembered meeting many famous authors, and had a Dennis the Menace book that was dedicated to “Aunt Julie” by Hank Ketcham.
After spending 10 years at Henry Holt, she moved to a public relations firm where she was able to combine her secretarial skills with her love of art through the development of promotional materials and the development of client presentations.
After living in New York her entire life, Juliet decided she wanted to travel overseas, so she took a position with the U.S. Government. She was posted to the U.S. Embassy in Madrid, Spain, in the early 1960s, and was able to travel extensively throughout Spain and Portugal, France and Italy. Here she met some of her Italian relatives for the first time.
While on a temporary posting to Lisbon, Portugal, Juliet met and married Harold Dorland, a Foreign Service officer. She moved to Portugal, and then to Toronto, Canada where she had a son, Bryan Dorland. She and Harold then moved to the Washington, D.C. area.
After 10 years of marriage, Juliet and Harold divorced. After their divorce, Juliet went back to work for the government. Loving travel, she was posted to Madrid, Spain, again during the 1970s, and to Lima, Peru, during the 1980s. While in Peru, she traveled to Quito, Ecuador, and La Paz, Bolivia, and visited the Inca ruins at Macchu Picchu.
During her service in the government, she had the honor of meeting both the secretary of state and the president of the United States as well as many foreign dignitaries.
She retired from government service in 1989 and moved to Waldoboro to be near her sister.
During her retirement in Maine, Juliet was fortunate enough to be able to pursue three of her great interests: cats, art and travel. She always had a cat near her, and supported numerous cat and animal charities.
She worked part time for, and later volunteered at Round Top Center for the Arts in Damariscotta, where she was able to interact with many local artists, took art classes and pursued painting local landscapes and still lifes in watercolor. She loved to host her family and friends at her house for Thanksgiving and Christmas, and her specialty dish was peas, onions and artichoke hearts, a recipe handed down from her mother.
She was also able to travel to Boston, New York, Washington, D.C., Ireland and England with her friends and family. In Ireland, she visited County Kerry [RD1], where her father’s family came from. In England, she spent time in the Lake District, visiting many of the locales featured in the works of one of her favorite authors, Jane Austen.
While in Maine, she helped take care of her elderly father, her older brother, her older sister, and her younger brother, all of whom predeceased her.
She is survived by son, Bryan Dorland, and grandchildren, Natalya, Ciaran and Emma Dorland.
Services were held on Dec. 4 at Hall Funeral Home, Waldoboro.
You are invited to share your condolences with the family by visiting their Book of Memories at www.hallfuneralhomes.com.
Hall Funeral Home, 949 Main St., Waldoboro, is caring for the family.
