Dolores C. Stanley

Dolores Costello Stanley, was an only child, born to Hardy and Rosa K. B. Johnson, in 1932, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. On the Easter Sunday of April 1944, she was baptized at St. Matthew A.M.E. Church by Reverend Mahlon M. Lewis. While attending St. Matthew, Dolores faithfully taught Sunday School and was honored as the “Queen of Sunday School”, for two years, by those who had the opportunity to see her service in action. After graduating from West Philadelphia High School in 1952, Dolores attended the Apex College of Beauty Culture and Hair Dressing for two years and graduated in 1959. This launched her career as an accomplished and well-known beautician in the greater Philadelphia area. She was soon afforded the opportunity to open and thrive in a shop of her own, appropriately named, Dolores Hairstylist. In 1988, the Black Barber and Beautician Association, a national consortium of personal hair care professionals, honored Dolores for never ceasing to provide a superior level of care to her clients whom she worked with for many years, and for some, decades. She was the only woman to receive such an honor at the time. Dolores always had a strong passion for the legacy she built and the clients she served, even after she retired, leaving her with the reputation of someone who actually enjoyed “treating people like family.” Dolores held memberships in numerous organizations such as: the Business and Professional Club (1964); the Ellen Tyree Missionary Society (1964); the Lay Organization (1984) and the Commission on Mission and Welfare (2012). As Correspondent Secretary, Dolores also served under Nancy C. Perry, since 2006, and contributed much to Nancy as she held her position. After moving to Camden , Delaware in 2005, Dolores found a spiritual home at Mt. Zion A.M.E. Church, Dover, DE, which is now led in worship and service by Reverend Dr. Erika D. Crawford. Dolores and her husband, Earl, have been married since 1963. They had one son, Earl Stanley, Jr., who along with his wife, Sharlene “Terri”, have one son as well, Terrell. Throughout a lifetime of simply lending a hand where she could, Dolores firmly believed that, “If I can help somebody as I pass along, then my living shall not be in vain” (a lyric from Mahalia Jackson's If I Can Help Somebody). Psalm 27:1 The Lord is my light and salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?

Dolores C. Stanley

February 8, 1932 - September 21, 2019