Dorothy Siegel

Dorothy Siegel peacefully passed away on April 10, 2021 at Phelps Hospital in Sleepy Hollow, NY. She was 81 years old.

Dorothy, who was born in The Bronx on October 23, 1939, was the beloved first child of the late Beatrice and Julius Fein, and the adored older sister of Jeannette Fein. From the start, she was surrounded by love and family, sharing a three-family house on Mace Avenue with her Hungarian grandparents, Lena & Jeno Gottlieb, on the bottom floor, and her cousins, Paul and Jerry Lurie and their parents, on the top floor.

After graduating from Christopher Columbus High School, Dorothy attend Boston University, where she received an Associate Degree. She started her career in advertising at Doremus & Company in NYC. She later worked at the Sklar Lennett advertising agency in Rye and had a 25-year career in the Comptroller’s Office at Fordham University. She enjoyed all of her jobs and made many friends along the way.

Dorothy met the love of her life, Burton Siegel, at a Republican committee meeting in the Bronx in 1964. A friend suggested that they go to the meeting because there would a lot of men there. Mission accomplished for Dorothy, as six weeks later she and Burt were engaged and a year later they were married. Dorothy loved being part of Burt’s big Greek family, who, like Burt, were full of life and crazy antics. Dor and Burt enjoyed 25 years together, celebrating the births and achievements of their two adored children, Jay and Lenore, until Burt’s untimely passing from brain cancer in 1990.

One of Dorothy’s superpowers was accepting life on life’s terms. Despite Burt’s death and other hardships, she always stayed positive and made the most out of every day. She and her sister Jeanette traveled often and had many wonderful trips together, especially Budapest and Prague in 2008 and Israel in 2012, a trip her beloved nephew, Fred Schwam, and Fred’s wife, Samantha, took her on. Dorothy was a fabulous cook and gatherings at her house for the Jewish holidays and Thanksgiving were always a treat. She was generous to a fault and could make Santa blush at the number of gifts she gave to her grandchildren and other family members at Christmastime. She loved going to see shows on Broadway, shopping anywhere that had shopping (which turned out to be almost everywhere she went), spending time with family and friends, and bragging about her four grandchildren, whom she loved “a bushel and a peck and a hug around the neck.”

Dorothy is survived by her children, Jay (Kathleen Duffett) of Cold Spring, New York, and Lenore (John Lore), of Yorktown Heights, New York, as well  as her grandchildren, Aidan, Devin and Molly Siegel and Bria Lore, her sister, Jeannette Fein, and many nephews, nieces, cousins, and friends. She was a gift to all who loved her and her memory is a blessing.

If desired, donations can be made in Dorothy’s honor to the Alzheimer’s Association of America, https://alzfdn.org/support-us/donate/

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