Dooley Bell Fava

Margaret Dooley Bell Fava, extraordinary wife, mother, grandmother, great-grandmother and dear friend to so many, passed away peacefully, with her husband and three children beside her, on the morning of July 1, 2023. Dooley was the first-born daughter to her barber father and newspaper editor mother in Vicksburg, Mississippi on August 26, 1939. She was pretty as a picture, sharp as a tack, feisty, funny and smart as a whip... qualities she maintained her entire life. She was always popular among teachers and students alike and graduated from St. Francis Xavier Academy Catholic School for Girls in 1957. 'Dooley Bell' as she was often called, attended the University of Mississippi, 'Ole Miss', where she met the love of her life, Ed Fava, from Shelby, Mississippi. She and Ed graduated in 1961 and married in June of that year. Ed was commissioned, with Dooley at his side, as an Ensign in the United States Navy and they were inseparable from that point on.

Dooley and Ed embarked on a 26-year adventure and career together as a proud Naval Officer and perhaps, an even prouder Navy wife.

Dooley was a most devoted daughter, wife, and dedicated mother. With three young children, she once flew in an Air Force C130 cargo plane 6000 miles across the Pacific, from Guam to California, then another 2000 miles to Vicksburg, where she enrolled her children in school and remained for three months as she personally nursed her ailing father back to health. She seamlessly raised their three children, Eddie, Mark, and Debbie, while moving no less than thirteen times in 26 years living in Norfolk, Virginia; Athens, Georgia; Monterey, California; Honolulu, Hawaii, Washington, DC; Newport, Rhode Island, Guam, Kings Bay, Georgia and Charleston, South Carolina. She worked in each new location, always contributing to and managing every cent of family finances. Dooley set up loving homes, always making her children's education a priority, and thoroughly enjoyed doing all necessary to support her husband's career.

Upon Ed's retirement as a Navy Captain, Dooley's beloved Charleston and Church Street became home. Ed was hired as the Charleston County Administrator just before Hurricane Hugo in 1989. Dooley, having refused to evacuate without Ed, weathered the Category 5 Hurricane at their home, emerging thereafter to immediately begin clearing the trees that pierced the roof, and firing up the outdoor grill for weeks with neighbors for their meals. Dooley loved their Navy life, Charleston, its beaches, and her countless friends, beyond measure. She was devoted to her Catholic Faith and could be seen power walking the Charleston peninsula daily (greeting all she passed), making her way to church for morning mass and weekly rosary. Dooley was fiercely devoted to and an unwavering defender of her family. She never missed attending nor acknowledging a family event, large or small, always sending a card or gift for every birthday, graduation, holiday, baptism, confirmation, scout award or wedding. She was always extremely generous in time and spirit, whether delivering meals on wheels or caring for family and friends when ill. She could just as easily host formal banquets for Navy Admirals, as classic cookouts for her grandchildren at the family's lake house in Saluda, North Carolina. She charmed all she met, sincerely treasuring, and maintaining each of her special friendships.

She weathered the cruel and debilitating disease of ALS with incomparable grace, humor and, above all, rock-solid strength. She was the epitome of a 'Steel Magnolia'. Dooley was predeceased by her parents, Duewood and Margaret Bell, as well as her brother Dewey Bell and his wife Pat. She is survived by her beloved husband of 62 years, Ed, who was faithfully by her side every single day of the last two years as her bodily strength waned, and by their three children Ernest Edward (Eddie) Fava, Jr. (Dan), Mark Christopher Fava (DeeAnn), Debra Ann (Debbie) Fava O'Brien (John); her seven grandchildren Jay O'Brien, Jr., Will O'Brien (Rachel), Christopher O'Brien, Matthew O'Brien (Carly), Holland Fava, Dulcie Fava, and Brier Fava; her two great-grandchildren, Finn O'Brien and Jack O'Brien and her sister Rebecca Bell (George)....and grand-puppy, 'Dooley'.

Sincere thanks to Bishop Gadsden's amazing therapy team and entire support staff, as well as the most skilled and sensitive personnel at Lutheran Hospice of Charleston. Our family extends its heartfelt thanks and appreciation to Cynthia Lloyd for her daily smile, compassionate assistance, and her very special friendship with Dooley.

A Catholic Mass honoring Dooley's life will be held at 10:00 am, Thursday, July 13, 2023 at St. Mary of the Annunciation, 95 Hassell Street, Charleston, SC, 29401 with a brief reception following at the adjacent Parish Hall. A private committal of ashes ceremony for the immediate family will take place among the grand oaks on the high bank of the Cooper River at Mepkin Abbey. In lieu of flowers, Dooley requested that donations be made in her name to St. Mary of the Annunciation Memorial Fund 89 Hasell Street, Charleston, South Carolina 29401 www.sma.church/planned-giving.html 843.722.7696, or St. Jude's Children's Hospital, 501 St. Jude Place, Memphis, TN 38105 or online at www.stjude.org.