Dolores Hope, wife of Bob Hope, dies at 102

Dolores Hope, the widow of Bob Hope, has passed away. The singer, who put her career on hold after her marriage to the comedian, died of natural causes on Monday (September 19) morning at her home in Toluca Lake, California, said her publicist B. Harlan Boll. She was 102 years old.

Born Dolores DeFina, she was raised in the Bronx, New York. In 1930s, she began her singing career and changed her name to Dolores Reade. She was introduced to Bob when she was singing at the Vogue Club in Manhattan. The pair tied the knot in February 1934, and remained married for nearly 70 years when he died in July 2003 at the age of 100.

Although she put her singing career on hold to raise her 4 adopted children with Bob, Dolores restarted at age 83 by recording several albums. She also performed with Rosemary Clooney in New York at Rainbow and Stars for several weeks. Additionally, she had received many humanitarian awards and had seven Honorary Doctorates.

Dolores is survived by three of her children, Linda, Nora and William Kelly; four grandchildren; and a great-grandchild. Her eldest son, Anthony, died in 2004. A private funeral is planned to take place on Friday, September 23 at the Bob Hope Memorial Garden in San Fernando Mission, California, where Bob was interred.