Martha Dolores “Dossy” Domaney (née Abdalla), age 97, passed away on October 7, 2025, surrounded by her family and loving caretakers peacefully at her home in Great Barrington.
Born on August 8, 1928, to Eddie K. Abdalla and Mary (Skype) Abdalla in Great Barrington, Dolores was a graduate of Searles High School in 1946 and then went on to attend Berkshire Business College in Pittsfield. Upon graduation, she worked in many different fields throughout her career. First she worked at Abdalla’s Market, at the family business, from 1946 to 1947, and then as secretary to the superintendent of schools in Great Barrington and for the principal of Searles High School from 1947 to 1956. She then proceeded to work at General Electric Company in Pittsfield from 1955 to 1957.
During a trip to Montreal, Canada, for a Lebanese church convention in 1956, Dolores met Joseph A. Domaney of Boston, whom she would eventually marry on July 8, 1957, at St. Peter’s Church in Great Barrington. The newly wedded couple then moved to Dedham, Mass., where they would start their family of two children, son Edward and daughter Anita.
In 1973, the family moved back to Great Barrington and purchased the family business from her uncle, then called Abdalla’s Market, and was retitled “Domany’s Liquors & Fine Foods Inc.” While Joseph continued to develop the store, Dolores began her career in the Engineering Department of the County Commissioner’s Office in Pittsfield, from which she left in 1984 to care for her husband Joseph, who had been courageously battling cancer. Joseph sadly passed away on February 27, 1986. Dolores would go on to work full time in the liquor store to continue the family business.
Dolores was an avid gardener throughout her entire life, tending to her flower and vegetable plants with the same care and devotion she showed her family. A lifelong lover of swimming, she could often be found in the pool well into her 80s and nearly every day. She also enjoyed reading, tennis, and found her greatest joy in the kitchen, preparing delicious Lebanese dishes that brought her family together. Above all, she treasured time spent with her grandchildren and great-grandchildren, whose laughter and love were the heart of her days.
Dolores leaves her son Edward J. Domaney and his wife Elizabeth Domaney of Great Barrington; her daughter Anita H. Koussa and her husband Mark Koussa Sr. of Rehoboth, Mass.; her brother Kaleel Abdalla and his wife Judy of Bay Village, Ohio; her brother-in-law Ernest Ghareeb; her three grandchildren, Joseph Domaney (and his wife Hannah), Mark Koussa Jr., and Michael Koussa; and her great-grandchildren, Charlie and William Domaney, all of whom affectionately called her “Sittoo.” She also leaves many loving nieces and nephews. She is predeceased by her sisters, Edna Massery, Julia George, and Jeanette Ghareeb.
Funeral Mass for Martha Dolores Domaney will be held on Tuesday, October 14, 2025, at 10 a.m., at St. Peter’s Church, with a Liturgy of Christian Burial with Reverend William P. Murphy, Pastor, officiating. The family will receive friends on Monday, October 13, 2025, from 3 to 5 p.m., and on Tuesday, October 14, 2025, from 8:30 to 9:30 a.m., at the Birches-Roy Funeral Home, 33 South Street, Great Barrington, MA. In lieu of flowers, expressions of sympathy in Dolores’ memory may be made to either St. Peter’s Maintenance Fund or Fairview Hospital in care of the funeral home. Condolences may be made through the funeral home’s website.
