Stella M. Sorrells

PORTLAND – Stella M. Sorrells, 88, passed away after a long illness on May 7, 2023 at Gosnell Memorial Hospice House in Scarborough.

Stella was born in Portland, Maine on July 30, 1934, the daughter of Salvatore and Mary (Severino) Nolfo. She attended local schools and graduated from Portland High School in 1952. Stella grew up on Newbury Street in Portland’s Little Italy and was very proud of her Italian heritage. Her family was her sole focus; she worried over them and took care of them to the very end.

Stella met and was courted by William Sorrells while he was stationed in Portland with the Coast Guard. On July 7, 1957, Stella and Bill were married at St. Peter’s Roman Catholic Church. She was a homemaker and when her children were older, she worked for Maine National Bank.

A woman of great faith, Stella was a lifelong communicant of St. Peter’s Church where she was a member of the Sacred Heart Sodality and enjoyed volunteering. She was also a past member of the Italian Heritage Center.

A loving daughter, sister, wife, mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother, Stella thoroughly enjoyed every minute she had together with her grandchildren and great-grandchild. She was always ready to help and support extended family members and friends alike. She bore several years of serious illness with great courage and dignity with her family always there to support her.

Surviving are her three daughters to whom she was devoted, Debra and her husband William Nelson of Auburn, Mass., Diane and her husband Peter Hoff of Ocean, N.J., and Mary Catherine Sorrells of Windham; four grandchildren who were the light of her life, William Nelson and his wife Mary Kathryn of Arlington, Va., Katherine Nelson of Saratoga Springs, N.Y., Courtney Dockerty and her husband Daniel of New York, N.Y., and Caroline Hoff of New York, N.Y.; one cherished great-granddaughter, Emma Nelson of Arlington, Va.; and two nephews.

Stella was preceded in death by her parents; her husband; her brother, Joseph Nolfo, and her sister, Mary DiMatteo.

Visiting hours will be held on Thursday, May 11 from 8 a.m. to 9:15 a.m. at the Conroy-Tully Walker South Portland Chapel, 1024 Broadway, South Portland. A Mass of Christian Burial will follow at 10 a.m. at St. Peter’s Roman Catholic Church, 72 Federal St., Portland. Burial will be in the family lot in New Calvary Cemetery. To view Stella’s Memorial Page, or to share an online condolence, please visit http://www.ConroyTullyWalker.com

Those who wish may make donations to

St. Peter’s

Roman Catholic Church,

72 Federal St.,

Portland, ME 04101