Dolores R. "Dolly" Thommen, founder of Tower Office Services who enjoyed performing in community theater productions, died Saturday at MedStar Franklin Square Medical Center.
The Parkville resident was 79.
"Dolly was a great little actress. She was good at drama or comedy, but comedy was her favorite thing," said Joyce H. Phelps, who first met Mrs. Thommen when she joined St. Matthew's Dramatic Society in the 1960s, which later changed its name to The Matthew's Players.
"When I joined The Matthew's Players, Dolly took me under her wing and she became a dear friend," said the former Parkville resident, who now lives in Shrewsbury, Pa. "She was always there for anyone who needed a helping hand. She was that way with everybody and everyone loved her. She had many friends — not just acquaintances — they were friends."
The daughter of William Tilghman, who owned Tilghman Grocery and Laundromat in Federal Hill, and Elizabeth Berger Tilghman, a homemaker, Dolores Rosetta Tilghman was born in Baltimore and raised on William Street in Federal Hill.
After graduating from St. Mary Star of the Sea parish school in 1949, she entered Catholic High School. from which she graduated in 1953.
Before her marriage in 1954 to Bernard F. "Bud" Thommen, an accountant, she worked for a year as a secretary at Johns Hopkins Hospital.
"As a teen, she played sports in South Baltimore, where she grew up," said a daughter, Patti Thommen Taylor of Carney. "At the age of 15, she met Bud when he coached her girl's basketball team at St. Mary Star of the Sea. They were married four years later and had seven children."
In 1959, the couple moved from South Baltimore to Upnor Road in Govans, where they raised their family.
Mrs. Thommen volunteered at St. Matthew's Parochial School where she was a milk mother, lunch mother and a classroom assistant. She also served as a secretary in the school's religious education office.
She was president of the Midwood Improvement Association and secretary of the Greater Loch Raven Council. She also served on the Mayor's Committee to which she had been appointed by Mayor Thomas J. D'Alesandro III.
In the early 1980s she went to work as office manager of A.W. Startt and Co., an accounting firm.
In 1990, she founded and served as president of Tower Office Services, a secretarial support firm whose clients included small businesses, which was located in the Belvedere Towers at Falls Road and Northern Parkway. She retired in 2005.
Mrs. Thommen's lifelong love was the theater, which led her to become a mainstay of The Matthew's Players and the Spotlighters for a number of years.
From 1976 to 1982, when he was associate pastor at St. Matthew Roman Catholic Church in Northwood, Msgr. Richard J. Murphy attended performances of The Matthew's Players.
"Dolly was very vivacious and quite competent as an actress. The Matthew's Players had a great reputation," said Msgr. Murphy, who is now pastor of St. Timothy Roman Catholic Church in Walkersville, and has remained a family friend for nearly 40 years.
"She was very adaptable for the various roles that she played. I remember when she had the lead in 'I Remember Mama' — she played Mama — and she was very, very good. She managed Mama's Norwegian accent and was very convincing," said Msgr. Murphy.
"She and Bud served on the board of The Matthew's Players, which raised money for the parish and was also at the same time a great community builder," he said.
"One of my favorite roles that Dolly played was Agnes Gooch in 'Mame.' She did such an outstanding job that she had us almost rolling on the floor," recalled Mrs. Phelps. "She was just wonderful when she played the mean Mrs. Mullin, who owned the carousel in 'Carousel.' She was just one great little actress."
Other memorable roles, said her daughter Ms. Taylor, included "Mildred in 'The Secret Affairs of Mildred Wild' and Dolly Levi in 'The Matchmaker' to name a few."
In addition to acting, Mrs. Thommen enjoyed singing.
"She loved to sing and had a beautiful voice. She was an alto," her daughter said.
Even though she stopped performing after moving to Parkville 22 years ago, Mrs. Thommen never lost her interest in the theater and was a regular at the Morris Mechanic Theatre, the Hippodrome and Center Stage.
"She also liked going to New York and often saw lots of celebrities. One time she was at a dinner theater and sat with the actress Rita Moreno and watched the performance," said Ms. Taylor. "I asked if she got her autograph and she said, 'No,' that Ms. Moreno was there to watch the show and she wasn't going to bother her."
Mrs. Thommen was a communicant of St. Ursula Roman Catholic Church, 8800 Harford Road, Parkville, where a Mass of Christian burial will be offered at 10 a.m. Wednesday.
In addition to her daughter, Mrs. Thommen is survived by her husband of 61 years, a retired CSX accountant; three sons, Bernard F. Thommen Jr. of Brooklyn Park, Robert M. Thommen of Hunt Valley and Stephen J. Thommen of Carney; three other daughters, Betsy Sandine of Marriottsville, Anne M. Thommen-Rollins of Parkville and Lori DeCarlo of Perry Hall; a sister, Elizabeth P. Waibel of Parkville; 19 grandchildren; and five great-grandchildren.