Dolly G. Reilly, (Linda), 81, of Marblehead, passed away unexpectedly on April 27, 2026, after complications related to a fall. Dolly was born on July 9, 1944, in Elgin, Illinois, to Orval and Marie Graening and earned her “nickname,” which became her proper name, from her father, who said she reminded him of a beautiful ”dolly”.
Dolly earned her bachelor’s degree in physical education from Michigan State University, majoring in dance, and her master’s degree in physical education, from Smith College.
While at Michigan State, Dolly was an accomplished athlete and member of the Kappa Kappa Gamma Sorority. She was extremely proud to have earned a spot on the Michigan State Cheerleading squad her freshman year, beating out over 1,000 candidates. She would go on to cheer in the 1966 Rose Bowl for Michigan State and land on the cover of Cheerleader USA Magazine. In addition to cheerleading, Dolly was a competitive swimmer and synchronized swimmer at the collegiate level.
Her junior year in college, Dolly was set up on a blind date with a PhD student from Newton named Bob Reilly. The midwestern girl was initially skeptical of the northeastern boy’s quiet temperament and unusual sense of humor, but his persistence and clever wit slowly won her over. Dolly and Bob were married on July 9, 1966, in her hometown of Elgin. Dolly remained the love of his life, confidant and partner for 57 years, providing a heroic level of care until the night of his passing in the summer of 2023.
Dolly had many personal accomplishments, but her real love was her family. She was a loving, caring, competitive, involved and impactful presence in the lives of her daughter, Melissa, and her son, Matthew, and subsequently her grandchildren Lachlan, Skylar and Elsie. She was a dedicated mother and then “Grammy” of athletes, spending most of her days driving someone to and then cheering them on at a swim meet, water polo match, lacrosse game or baseball game. An accomplished swimmer herself, her love for the water and competitive nature permeated down to both her children as well as her grandchildren. In addition to swimming, she had a love of playing squash which then translated into tennis, and she played for many years on the Bass River tennis team, as well as in many tournaments at the Corinthian Yacht Club. One of her greatest joys was playing with her daughter in many summer tennis tournaments. One of her largest tennis accomplishments was placing fourth in 2010 at the Super-Senior USTA Nationals in Arizona with her team. In her later years, Dolly moved her focus to tap dancing, where she found joy and great friendships practicing and performing. She said many times that tap dancing saved her life when things seemed hard.
Dolly used her degrees to pursue a lifelong love of teaching and instruction. Over her career, she worked at Boston University, the Marblehead YMCA, Marblehead High School, Manchester High School and numerous other academic and athletic institutions. She was also an amazing and accomplished swim instructor. Her students included members of her family, novice swimmers, division 1 collegiate athletes and even Olympians. While sports played a major role in her life, she also had a passion for the Girl Scouts, knitting, baking and traveling.
Dolly is remembered as a loving and dedicated wife, mother, grandmother, friend and athlete. Fiercely loyal, straight-forward, humorous and ever-present, she will be immensely missed. When asked by her grandson in a “family member interview” how she wanted to be remembered, her answer was that she “would like people to remember that she was a good person and she loved her family.” Both have easily been accomplished.
Dolly is survived by her daughter Melissa; son Matthew; daughter in-law Krista; grandchildren Lachlan Hartshorn, Skylar Hartshorn and Elsie Reilly; sister Vicky Harbeck, sister in-law Paula Horner and numerous nephews.
There will be a burial service on Thursday, June 18, at Waterside Cemetery in Marblehead at 11 a.m., followed by a reception at the Corinthian Yacht Club from 12-3 p.m. Please feel free to attend either or both. If you are so inclined, in lieu of flowers, please donate to a charity or organization that is important to you and think of Dolly. Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at eustisandcornellfuneralhome.com for the Reilly family.
