Dolores S. Fell

Dolores Sulentic Fell was born in Council Bluffs and passed away December 28, 2023 

Dee was the second of 3 children born to Rose and Emil Sulentic.  She attended McMillan School and St. Francis High School.  At St. Francis, she was valedictorian of her graduating class.  She also studied dance and piano. 

She earned certification as a registered nurse (RN) at Council Bluffs’ Mercy Hospital and then served as a surgical nurse there. Later, she was an RN in intensive care and post-critical care in Omaha, and in an emergency room in Davenport, Iowa.  She also provided medical care for special ed students in Davenport, and evaluated patients eligible for federal medical aid in Tallahassee, FL.

Dee met Bill Fell (land surveyor and, later, civil engineer) through a nurses training classmate.  They were married in February 1955 on a bitterly cold day when the custodian forgot to turn on the church heat.  After 47 years of marriage, Bill died of pulmonary fibrosis in 2002 (the same year her mother Rose Sulentic died).

Together, Bill and Dee went through deaconate training through the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Omaha. He was ordained in 1984.  They were both very active at St. Robert Bellarmine Catholic Church, teaching RCIA and baptism prep classes, Bill serving as deacon for the parish and Dee as mentor, eucharistic minister, lector and choir.

Dee was preceded in death by her husband Bill and her brothers Emil and Steve Sulentic.  Dee and Bill are survived by four children, six grandchildren and three great-grands: 

1. In Omaha, daughter Mary Anne (Bruce) Ramge, grandson Nick (Sara) and six-year-old daughter, Ruby; grandson Philip (Celeste), Indianapolis, Indiana.
2. All in Omaha – Bill (Molly) Fell, granddaughter Katie (Jason) Boice, and sons, four-year-old JJ and six-month-old Oliver. Granddaughter Colleen Fell.  Grandson Danny (Madison) Fell.
3. In Santa Cruz California, Richard Fell. 
4. In Vancouver, Washington, Charles (Sue) Fell and granddaughter Emma.

Memorials preferred to St Robert Bellarmine or Siena Francis House.