This is a printer-friendly version of an article from Zip06.com.
02/02/2023 11:15 AMNo doubt accompanied by organ music and a chorus of angels, Dorine M. (Holland) Bivona, 95, passed from this world on Jan. 20. She died in her Guilford home of many years, surrounded by her loving family.
Dorine was born in Mechanicville, New York, in 1927, the daughter of the late Edward Patrick Holland and Monica (Casey) Holland and sister of the late Virginia Donahue, the late Edward Patrick Holland, Jr., Patricia Fiorelli, and John Francis Holland. She graduated from the College of Saint Rose in Albany, New York, and married Anthony “Tony” Leonard Bivona of Stamford in 1951. They were happily married until Tony’s death in 1993 and were the proud parents of eight children.
Dorine was predeceased by daughters Monica Warren of Guilford and Kerry Cole of Phoenixville, Pennsylvania, son William Bivona of Middlebury, and great-granddaughter Madeline Guarraia. She is survived by her beloved sons Daniel, Patrick, and Andrew Bivona, and beloved daughters Lyn Mulroy and Kristen Ryan, as well as 14 grandchildren and 10 great-grandchildren.
Dorine taught piano to countless children, first in Stamford and then in Guilford. She served as music minister and organist at St. George Church in Guilford, where she planned the music and played the organ for every weekend mass and directed both the children’s and the adult’s choir. She served the church community for 40 years, retiring at the age of 92. Many residents of Guilford will remember the hand-lettered sign she hung on the choir room door that read, “God smiles when children sing!” She also accompanied many a Guilford bride down the aisle and directed a funeral choir, ensuring that the town’s deceased would go to their rest amidst the soothing sounds of song. Now it is Dorine’s turn.
A Mass of Christian burial will be held at 11 a.m. Feb. 18, at St. George Church, 33 Whitfield St., Guilford. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made in Dorine’s name to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, 501 St. Jude Place, Memphis, TN 38150; https://www.stjude.org/ and the St. George Holiday Sharing Ministry, 33 Whitfield St, Guilford, CT 06437; https://stgeorgeguilford.org/ Arrangements in care of the Guilford Funeral Home, 115 Church St, Guilford. To share a memory or leave condolences, visit www.guilfordfuneralhome.com.