Dorothea  Isabella (Panagini) Bellafiore was born in Brooklyn, New York on February 8^th, 1918. She grew up with  two brothers,and a sister . With her husband she raised five children: three girls and two boys.

Dorothea has eleven grandchildren and eight grandchildren.

Dorothea attended P.S. 186, Seth Low Junior High School and Manual Training High School in Brooklyn before studying at Brooklyn City College from 1934 to 1936. In 1933, at the age of 15, for a year she battled the tuberculosis epidemic at the Trudeau Sanatorium in Saranac, NY where she was cured with the famous "fresh air" treatment. “I left home emaciated and returned home 30 pounds heavier, with a big bottom, and bosomed”!

For 3 years she courted “the most loving man I have ever met”, a substitute teacher in the Brooklyn Public school system. She continued” He wrote a poem for me every day, for over a year, beautifully handwritten, and later bound it in a book with the title “How do I love thee. He also loved to quote from Shakespeare”. They married  in 1938 and lived in Brooklyn and Staten Island before retiring to the Greenbriar Adult Community in New Jersey in 1971. Joseph went from being a substitute teacher to a Principal. In addition, he wrote a series of English language books still available today. Several of these were grammar review books used to prepare students for the NYC Regents exams. Dorothea adds “these were very lucrative for us”! She and her husband shared a love for theatre productions, Broadway shows, bocce tournaments, and traveling extensively in the United States, Europe and China. They were married for 65 years.

Dorothea is still an avid reader, bridge player (winner of several local  tournaments),a  lover of word games ,and trivia. She still can be seen traveling to Y weekdays. Her favorite past time is playing online Scrabble with her children and grandchildren.