Dolores Payette Devereux, 87, of Winchester, VA, formerly of Berryville, VA, passed away at her home on Wednesday, August 31, 2016.

Dolores was born on Jan. 22, 1929, the oldest, and only daughter, of five children. She attended Sacred Heart Academy, Washington, DC; Notre Dame College, Baltimore, MD; and Visitation College, Washington, DC. Her studies ended when she followed her heart and married C. Kemp Devereux on June 5, 1948, at St. Matthew's Cathedral, Washington, DC.

A city girl, Dolores' early marriage years were spent in Georgetown, DC, and Chevy Chase, Md. A love for learning and children led Dolores to complete the AMI Montessori course, earning one of the first AMI teacher certificates issued in the United States. She began teaching while pregnant with her eighth child.

A life change came in 1967 when the family moved to Riverside Farm, Berryville, VA. It was here that Dolores opened Riverside Montessori School in 1970, the first in the northern Shenandoah Valley. She was owner, administrator and teacher, while carpooling the rest of her brood, feeding both children and livestock, and helping to take care of the business of family and farm.

Dolores retired to spend time with her growing number of grandchildren. However, after the death of her daughter, Joan, in 1994, she had the opportunity to substitute teach at the Winchester Montessori School. The semester turned into many years at the school, where she reunited with a number of her former students, now parents of her young pupils. Her enthusiasm for Montessori methods was enduring. (She died on Maria Montessori's birthday.)

Faith, family and friends were the pillars of Dolores' life. Bible study groups with friends in Millwood and at the Holy Cross Abbey were regularly enjoyed. Several large gardens exhibited her weeding and horticulture skills, with perennial descendants still in evidence in her children's gardens.

The family wishes to thank the thoughtful and patient caregivers who helped Dolores live a safe and comfortable life in her latter years.

Surviving her are her seven children: Charles Kemp Devereux Jr. of Winchester, VA; Dolores Devereux (Cookie) Trahan of Hutto TX; Diane Devereux Long, and husband, Larry Long, of Gaithersburg, MD; Kathleen Devereux of Purcellville, VA; Brooke Anthony (Tony) Devereux of Berryville, VA; Anne Marie Sempeles of Winchester; VA; and Claire Devereux Boyd, and husband Robert Boyd, of Winchester, VA; sixteen grandchildren; 11 great granddaughters and a brother, Ronald Payette of Tucson, AZ.

Along with her husband, Kemp, she was preceded in death by a daughter, Joan Payette Devereux; and brothers, Robert Payette, Richard Payette and John Joy Payette, Jr.

A funeral mass will be held at 10 a.m. on Tuesday, September 6, 2016 at St. Bridget Catholic Church in Berryville, VA. A reception will follow at Hobert Parish Hall. Burial will follow at the Cool Spring Natural Cemetery, Berryville VA.

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