Dolores A. Oleksiak's Obituary
Dolores A. Oleksiak (nee Vrana) passed away peacefully on December 24, 2025 (age 92). She was born on October 31, 1933 in Cleveland, OH to George and Anna (Mazur) Vrana as the eldest of three children. Dolores attended elementary school at St. Stephen Catholic Parish on West 54th Street and later graduated from St. Stephen High School.
Dee began her professional career in the early 1950s as a stenographer with Griswold-Eshelman Co., one of Cleveland’s most prominent advertising agencies. She married the love of her life, Edward, on August 25, 1956, and they remained together for 66 years. Dee later joined the offices of Greyhound Bus Lines in downtown Cleveland before pausing work to raise their five children. She subsequently resumed working for a local insurance agency in the late 1970s and ultimately retired as the assistant to the director of Cleveland’s Deaconess Hospital Foundation in 1990.
Dee preferred Johnnie Ray over Elvis Presley, and as an adherent of the early 1960s folk music movement, she appreciated the sound of Simon & Garfunkel and The Kingston Trio. She enjoyed solving crossword puzzles; listening to classical and opera music; attending live theater performances; and amusing others with her humorous stories. As an active member of Professional Secretaries International for many years, Dee helped to organize and lead multiple activities for the group. Deeply religious, she steadfastly practiced her Catholic faith and embraced it as a source of strength and calm throughout her life. In her retirement, she travelled extensively with Ed – joining other Illuminating Company retirees and their spouses on several trips throughout the United States and visiting their children in Arizona, California, Virginia, and Europe. Over the years, Dee and Ed remained close with their circle of friends – most of whom they had known since the 1950s. Dee was renowned for her storytelling ability, and loved to regale her grandchildren with tales from her younger days – like catching a Clifton Blvd. streetcar for a Cleveland Indians game to watch stars like Larry Doby and Al Rosen – or making a solo voyage in her father’s Plymouth to visit Uncle Frank at Ye Olde Midway Inn in Clyde, Ohio.
After residing in Strongsville, Dolores and Ed relocated again to Lorain County, where they spent their final retirement years at Wesleyan Meadows and later at Wesleyan Village, until Dolores moved to Jennings in Garfield Heights in September 2023.
Dee’s parents, George and Anna Vrana, and her husband, Edward, pre-deceased her. She was also preceded in death by her dear brother, Fr. John G. Vrana. Survivors include her sister Gloria Wick (Joseph); her children Matthew (Nancy), Faye Bartholomew (Alan), Mark (Laurie), John (Cynthia), and James; her grandchildren Katie, Christine Petersen (Chad), Joseph (Madison), Bianca and Ryno; great-grandchild Ava Grace Petersen; and numerous nieces and nephews.
Mass of Christian Burial at 11:00 a.m. on December 31, 2025 at St. Ambrose Catholic Church, 929 Pearl Rd., Brunswick, OH. Visitation to occur immediately prior to Mass at St. Ambrose from 10:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. Interment at Sunset Memorial Park in North Olmsted. Family suggests memorial contributions to the Diocese of Cleveland, Priestly Formation c/o Catholic Community Foundation, Cathedral Square Plaza, 1404 East Ninth St., 8th Floor, Cleveland, OH 44114-1722 or online at: https://www.catholiccommunity.org/give/catholic-worship-formation/priestly-formation
What’s your fondest memory of Dolores?
What’s a lesson you learned from Dolores?
Share a story where Dolores' kindness touched your heart.
Describe a day with Dolores you’ll never forget.
How did Dolores make you smile?