Dolores May Vann passed away on June 5, 2021, at home surrounded by her loving family.  She took pride in being a fifth-generation Texan, born in 1935, in Honey Grove, Texas, to P. G. "Bill" and Nora Holt Warden. Her mother having died when Dolores was two, she grew up in a series of homes. She graduated high school in Eastland where she was salutatorian and attended TCU, graduating in 1957, and later doing graduate studies at the University of North Carolina and Texas Tech. She married Jerry Don Vann in 1958 and taught high school English for one year in Ft. Worth and four years in Lubbock, then retired to become a fulltime mother.

Dolores was active in the Shakespeare Club and later in Ariel, serving as president. A lifelong Democrat, she served as precinct chair in the early 1970s. When the Denton city planner announced a plan for Oak Street to become a commercial area similar to University Drive, thereby threatening her historic home, she became an activist, a pioneer in historical preservation in Denton, organizing the neighborhood and working with others to secure the Oak-Hickory Historical District, thereby preserving the residential nature of the area and preventing the destruction of many beautiful historic homes. For her efforts she was honored with a recognition ceremony in which the mayor presented her with a proclamation, proclaiming July 1, 2014, as "Dolores Vann Day" in Denton, and a similar ceremony with the County Commissioners Court. Many will remember her as a prolific writer of letters to the editor.  She was a longtime member of the London Dickens Fellowship and a co-founder with her husband of the Denton Dickens Fellowship in 1988. She loved traveling and visited many countries, her favorite being England. Dolores was strong and brave; she survived many illnesses, including breast cancer, but finally succumbed to Alzheimer's.

She is survived by her husband, Don, a son, Christopher, a daughter, Vanessa, and spouse Troy Kraatz, grandson Jonathan Farrow, and granddaughters Caitlyn Vann and Madeleine Vann Kraatz.

The family will be at Mulkey-Bowles-Montgomery Funeral home for visitation from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. on Tuesday, June 8. A memorial service will be at Mulkey-Bowles Montgomery at 2:00 p.m. on Wednesday June 9, followed by burial at I. O. O. F. cemetery.

In lieu of flowers the family suggests memorial contributions to the Vann Victorian Endowment at the University of North Texas:

Willis Library

Office of the Dean

1506 W. Highland St.

Denton, TX 76203