Dona Dorfman

Dona Dorfman passed away at home on Tuesday, February 10th, 2026, surrounded by her loving family at her side. Dona is survived by her husband Stan, sister Barbara, sons Matt (Jill Bell) and Adam (Morgan Dorfman), granddaughters Reese, Sadie, Oona and Paige, as well as her most recent and first grandson, Mason.

An educator for the whole of her career, Dona began teaching second grade at Walton Elementary School in North Philadelphia in 1970, where she met Stan.They became good friends and confidants who enjoyed discussing teaching, avant-garde films at South Street’s TLA and Philadelphia’s emerging restaurants of the 1970s. Dona’s commitment to education carried through her working life for twenty years through her time at Lea Elementary School and concluding at the Elwyn Institute, where she became a Certified Reading Specialist and taught remedial reading for the better part of ten years at the time of her retirement in 2020.

Her way of being was equal parts blunt and empathetic, proving to anyone who met her that honesty- even when deployed brutally- could be its own love language. She was unimpressed with showboating theatrics in real life, but loved them in movies of all decades and all genres, Broadway theater and endless reruns of Seinfeld, Curb Your Enthusiasm and Law & Order: SVU, mixing in an occasional episode of The Twilight Zone. She always prioritized family and friends above anything else- many of those being close friends of more than forty five years. One thousand piece jigsaw puzzles were also beloved, but to a much lesser degree.

Despite what we’re confident were private fears, Dona knowingly approached her end resolutely with grace, and did not complain, telling her granddaughter, Oona, two days prior to her passing, “You know, Oona, this is one big adventure.”

Wife of Stan Dorfman; Mother of Matt Dorfman (Jill Bell) and Adam Dorfman (Morgan); Sister of the late Janet Goldstein (Neil) and Barbara Zuckerman (Hank). Grandmother of Reese, Sadie, Oona, Paige, and Mason.

Relatives and friends are invited to memorial services Sunday, February 15, 2026, 1:00 PM at Temple Sholom in Broomall, 55 Church Lane, Broomall, PA 19008. Interment Private.

All are invited to one night of Shiva following services at Athertyn Clubhouse, 7700 Parkview Drive, Haverford, PA 19041.

Dona will be lovingly missed by all those who knew her or felt her touch. We will forever feel her spirit and her presence. Please visit Dona’s CaringBridge.org page at: https://www.caringbridge.org/site/6794806c-f980-11f0-9e50-2d19fbd8b131

Donations may be sent to https://pkdcure.org/give/

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