Dolores Ellcessor

Dolores Ellcessor passed away peacefully on November 5, 2026, at her daughter’s home in Winchendon, Massachusetts. Born on January 16, 1926, in New York City, she was the daughter of Genoveva (Balart) and Cayetano Medina.

Dolores was preceded in death by her beloved husband, Karl Max Ellcessor; her daughter, Karla Wiley; and her siblings, Antonia Taylor, Rosa Martinez, Josephine Medina, and Andrew Medina.

She is survived by her loving children: Karl (Barbara) Ellcessor, Mark Ellcessor, Patricia (Doug) Schaub, Susan Stauffer, and Cynthia (Tom) Driscoll. Dolores was also a cherished grandmother to nine and great-grandmother to seven.

Dolores began her lifelong nursing career after graduating from the Cumberland Hospital School of Nursing, located in Brooklyn, New York, in September 1947. She worked as a nurse at Cumberland Hospital for three years. In November 1950, Dolores joined the U.S. Army Nurse Corps and trained at Fort Sam Houston, Texas. First Lieutenant Medina was then transferred to the Army’s European Command, serving as a field nurse in France and then Germany during the post-war occupation.

In February 1954, Dolores married her husband, Karl Ellcessor, in Frankfurt, Germany. Karl was an officer in the U.S. Air Force, also assigned as part of the occupation force in post-war Europe. Following her honorable discharge from the Army in August 1954, Dolores dedicated herself to raising her family of six children over the ensuing years.

Dolores returned to nursing in September 1970 at Fairfax Hospital in Fairfax County, Virginia. Dolores worked principally at Fairfax Hospital’s Intensive Care Unit (ICU). She retired in 1998. Following her retirement, Dolores continued her devotion for helping others by volunteering hundreds of hours at Inova Fair Oaks Hospital.

Burial will take place at Arlington National Cemetery at a later date, where she will be laid to rest alongside her husband, Karl. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests that donations in Dolores’s name be made to a charity of the donor’s choosing.

Stone-Ladeau Funeral Home, 343 Central Street, Winchendon, Massachusetts, is assisting with arrangements.