Dolores Crawford Shields passed away surrounded by her family and her favorite music on July 23, 2020.
Dolores, aka “Dodie, Doodles and most recently, Lola” was born on February 3, 1948 to John H. Crawford, Jr. and Jesusa “Jupie” A. Achabal Crawford.
No one knew it at the time, but the world was about to be made a much better place.
As the oldest of four sisters, she worked hard to love and protect them--sometimes from life and sometimes from each other.
As a teenager, Dolores moved from Winnemucca to McDermitt. When asked where she graduated high school, Dolores would proudly proclaim, “McDermitt High School”.
When it came to hard work, Dolores was not afraid. She began her lengthy office work career as secretary at McDermitt High School.
From there, she spent some time working for a local accountant who trained her in bookkeeping. Dolores also worked at Bevard and Lambert for many years as the secretary, payroll clerk, scheduler and concrete batcher.
At the time, she was definitely a woman in a man’s world. This fact did not stop her. To this day, we are pretty sure there are a few fellows that shudder at the sound of her name. After leaving Bevard and Lambert, Dolores had the opportunity to become a stay-at-home mom, certainly the most important job she ever had.
In 1991, Dolores utilized the local JOIN program to help refresh her skills and earn a position at the Humboldt County DA’s office.
From there, she moved to the County Clerk’s office where she retired in 2017.
Dolores very much enjoyed her time working at the Court House. She made countless friends and memories. She enjoyed dressing up with her co-workers for holidays.
She had earrings for every occasion. Throughout the years, between her other jobs, Dolores was called upon to drive the mail truck for her Dad.
On her down time, Dolores could be found volunteering at one of the many events happening around town.
In 1973, she became a member and secretary for the Agricultural District No. 3.
The organization at that time oversaw a horse show, team ropings and events during Labor Day weekend.
From there, Dolores took on the role as timer, secretary and occasionally announcer for many horse related events.
This extensive list of events includes the McDermitt Rodeo, Winnemucca Mule Show, Winnemucca Ranch Hand Rodeo, Winnemucca Junior Rodeo, Winnemucca High School Rodeo, Buster Miller Memorial Rodeo, Labor Day Great Basin Challenge, ICA Rodeos, SSIR and many, many, many team ropings.
Her volunteer involvement didn’t just include rodeo.
She greatly enjoyed being part of the Labor Day 4-H Fair. You could find her helping out wherever needed. Being a judge for the Round Robin competition was her most favorite.
She was honored to donate several lambs to the 4-H Scholarship Auction. She also was a parade chairman for the Winnemucca Basque Club many years ago.
You could always find her selling tickets for hours on end during the Winnemucca Basque Festival, unless her daughters were dancing, that always required a break. For several years she was a part of the Golconda Fire Department and Golconda Community Club.
Her volunteer efforts did not go unnoticed and in September 2017, she was asked and proud to accept the honor of being Winnemucca’s Labor Day Parade Grand Marshal. The smile on her face that day will never be forgotten by her family.
Dolores had such a love for her animals. She raised sheep and goats for most of her adult life. She also threw in some chickens, cats, dogs, rabbits, horses, cows, an occasional donkey and whatever other critter that may have needed a home.
She had a knack for helping sickly, cold bummer lambs and goats grow into healthy adults. Friends and neighbors frequently called on her when an animal was in need of some TLC.
No matter how Dolores loved to volunteer and be with her animals, her first love was always for her family.
She could be seen in the audience for plays, awards, games, graduations and any other event her family was involved in.
Dolores always had her video camera out for sports and Basque festivals. Watching Maria and Amanda Basque dance was one of the biggest joys of her life, until she was able to watch her granddaughters dance as well. Nothing could have topped those moments.
She was the proudest Amuma in the crowd to be able to witness her four granddaughters and two daughters dance together. This is equal only to being able to award her grandson two buckles during The Labor Day Great Basin Challenge one year.
Dolores was preceded in death by her parents Jupie and John Crawford, sister Marlene Gandiaga, her grandparents Maria Dolores and Ygnacio Achabal, Mina and John H. Crawford and many other amazing people.
She is survived by her two daughters, Maria Crawford Miller (Mike), Amanda Shields Kerr (Wes) who she loved, supported and adored more than words can explain, and her bonus daughter who she loved so very much, Jessica McGregor (Ian). Dolores was blessed with grandchildren whom she was their biggest fan, Jace, Naomi and Bailey Miller and Quincy Jo and Riata Kerr and soon to arrive grandbaby number 6, Baby Kerr.
She is also survived by her beautiful sisters Dorothy Caldwell and Jeannie (Stan) Cowley as well as her brother-in-law, Joe Gandiaga.
A wonderful, loving group of nieces and nephews are here to remember her: Marnie (Andy) Carter, John (Sam) Evans, Shasta (Mike) Schrempp, Mark (Lindsey), Anita and Elise Cowley, along with a number of great and even great, great nieces and nephews. Dolores is also blessed with numerous cousins who will miss her.
Dolores was a fiercely independent woman that was idolized by her family.
Her daughters learned so much from her grit and grind. She has left a very big hole in a family that she loved very much. Birthdays will not be the same without her calls and holidays will not be the same without her amazing dips and veggies. She will be forever missed. We are grateful for the hundreds of stories we will have to share with our children.
We would like to thank the staff at Genesis Home Health and Humboldt General Hospital. During this unfortunate time, the staff at Genesis and HGH did more than treat our mother as a patient. Above all else, they were very kind and caring to our mother and our family.
A private service will be held by the family. The family will also hold a celebration of her amazing life this fall.
Please bring all of your best Dolores stories to share with her family when the time arrives. In lieu of flowers, the family asks for you to donate to Larena’s Race: c/o Mary Bengoa, 1200 East Skyline Rd., Battle Mountain, NV 89820 or visit larenasrace.org to donate directly through the website.
