Dorothea G Seidel (nee Clauer) passed away on February 6, 2026. Dorothea was born November 2, 1927, in Berlin, Germany as the next-to-youngest of 8 children. She married her husband, Horst, in Berlin in 1950, and they immigrated to Delaware with their daughter, Margit, in 1954. Their first years in Delaware were spent living in Wilmington. The family eventually moved to Newark, DE, where they remained and had another daughter, Nancy.
Dorothea had various jobs as a young woman – keypunch operator, assistant in a doctor’s office, assembly line worker in a factory, and cleaning houses. When the family moved to Newark, Dorothea became a homemaker.
Dorothea was all about family, and was a doting wife, loving sister, mother, grandmother (Oma), great-grandmother, and a valued friend and neighbor. At the holidays, she kept up German traditions and baking. Dorothea liked to do needlework, especially crocheting, and friends and family have plenty of doilies and afghans to prove it! She had an inquisitive mind, and enjoyed gardening, reading, LEGOs, and puzzles. She was reliably there to lend a helping hand to anyone. Dorothea always had a smile, with the cutest dimples, and she loved to sing. She will be sorely missed by family and friends.
Dorothea is predeceased by her parents, Karl and Martha Clauer of Germany; her siblings, Elfriede, Erwin, Erika, Hildegard, Herbert, and Käthe of Germany; her sister, Martha Breitmayer of New Jersey; her husband, Horst H Seidel; and daughter, Margit D Walter. She is survived by her daughter, Nancy H Seidel; grandsons, Adam and Eric Walter (and his wife Jenn); great-grandchildren, Jackson and August, and nieces and nephews.
A memorial service for Dorothea will be held at 11:00 AM on February 27th at the McCrery & Harra Funeral Home (3710 Kirkwood Hwy., Wilmington, DE 19808). Friends may call beginning at 10:00 AM. Interment at All Saints Cemetery will follow. In lieu of flowers, please donate to the Alzheimer’s Association at https://www.alz.org to donate online, or checks can be sent to Alzheimer’s Association, Attention: Donor Services, 225 North Michigan Ave, Floor 17, Chicago, Illinois 60601.
