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Dolena left her family and friends on the final leg of her journey home on Feb. 6, 2010, in palliative care in Strait Richmond Hospital, Evanston.
Born on March 5, 1938, in Grand River East Side to parents Duncan and Dinah (MacDonald) Matheson.
Dolena was predeceased by her parents, brother, Donald and infant brother, Gordon.
She is survived by her husband, Frank R. Sutherland; daughters, Dianne Sutherland, Edmonton, Alta., Deborah Sutherland Guest (Jerry), Yorkton, Sask., Danica Sutherland Brown (Mike), Lower Sackville; sister, Augusta Levack, Grand River; twin brothers, Bruce (Marlene) Matheson, Port Hastings, Bradley (Priscilla) Matheson, Sampsonville. She is also survived by seven cherished grandchildren, as well as a number of dear nieces and nephews.
After attending elementary school in Grand River and while residing in Coxheath, she enrolled at Riverview High School. She then ventured to Halifax to find work and was successful as a stock records clerk with Scotia Chev Olds, Citadel Motors and London Pontiac.
In 1967, she married Frank and spent several years in the Halifax area, eventually building their home in Sackville, where their family was raised.
As an active volunteer, she did her part in a door-to-door campaign to raise money for the local arena. She was an active canvasser for the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Nova Scotia and for many years co-ordinated the canvassing teams for the Canadian Cancer Society in Sackville, Beaver Bank, Windsor Junction, Lucasville and Hammonds Plains. She also participated in the annual Longest Day of Golf for the Canadian Cancer Society. As a founding member of the Sackville Jaycettes, she attained the Maple Leaf Award, the highest in the organization.
While her children were attending high school, she felt a strong desire to re-enter the workforce as a school bus driver for the Halifax County School Board, conveying children in the Beaver Bank, Lucasville and Hammonds Plains communities. She spoke often of the lasting relationships she had with the children she drove and was blessed with special and personal gifts from the children throughout the years.
Resting in River Bourgeois Funeral Home, Tuesday, Feb. 9, 2010, and today (Wednesday) from 2-4 and 7-9 p.m. Funeral service will take place in St. Peter’s United Church, Thursday, Feb. 11 at 2 p.m. Cremation will follow the church service and ashes will be buried later at a personal family committal.
Funeral arrangements are under the direction of Green’s Funeral Home in Port Hawkesbury. 
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the palliative care program at Strait Richmond Hospital or the Canadian Cancer Society for liver research.
To honour Dolena’s memory, please commit to making this world a better place by volunteering your time and giving to those less fortunate.
Messages to the family may be forwarded by visiting www.greensfuneralhome.ca.