Dolores Hope, widow of comedian Bob Hope, dies at 102

Dolores Hope, who throughout her 69-year marriage to comedian Bob Hope oversaw their charitable giving and played a key role in establishing the Eisenhower Medical Center in Rancho Mirage, has died. She was 102.

In the late 1960s, the Hopes donated 80 acres of land near their future Palm Springs estate for the medical center, which opened in 1971.

She was born Dolores DeFina on May 27, 1909, in New York City and grew up in the Bronx.

During the 1930s, she sang in nightclubs using the stage name of Dolores Reade and met Hope when he caught a New York City show.

After a brief courtship they married in 1934 and were soon sharing the vaudeville stage.

Bob Hope died in 2003.

A full obituary will follow at latimes.com/obits.

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-- Valerie Nelson and Claire Noland

Photo: Dolores and Bob Hope in 1998. Credit: Associated Press