Nov 3, 2022

Dorothy Andrea Seese, formerly of Waynesburg, passed away Tuesday, November 1, 2022, in Fitzwater’s Assisted Living in Fairmount, W.Va. She was 81.

Born March 7, 1941, she was a daughter of the late Andy and Mary Franks of Mather.

Dorothy was a 1959 graduate of Jefferson-Morgan Joint Senior High School. She received her registered nursing degree from the Uniontown Hospital School of Nursing in 1962, and attended Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio.

A lifelong advocate for women in the workplace, she took great pride not only in being a working mother, but also in the privilege and honor of working with – and being in service to – others during her 40-year career in the healthcare field.

In addition to participating in professional organizations and societies, she spent several decades as an active member of the Xi Lambda chapter of Beta Sigma Phi social sorority in Waynesburg.

On June 20, 1964, she married Walter Dale Seese of Rices Landing. He preceded her in passing November 18, 2009.

Dorothy was an avid reader of fiction and poetry, a joyful lover of music from all genres and eras (especially Aretha Franklin!), and an enthusiastic participant in the simplest of pursuits: she could often be found quietly appreciating the beauty of the changing foliage during her favorite season of autumn.

A woman of devout faith, Dorothy was a member of St. Ann Parish in Waynesburg.

Her greatest passion, however, was spending cherished time with her husband and family, dear friends, and community at large.

Dorothy is survived by two children, Gregory (Lisa Nishimura) Seese of Los Angeles, Calif., and Julia (John) Minnocci of Bridgeport, W.Va.; a sister, Laura Gmerek of Los Angeles; three grandchildren, Dominico Minnocci and Jovanni Minnocci, both of Bridgeport, and Royal Nishimura-Seese of Los Angeles; and several nieces and nephews.

All services will be private.

In lieu of flowers, the family kindly suggests that donations, in Dorothy’s memory, be made to the Dementia Society of America, P.O. Box 600, Doylestown, PA 18901, or at www.DementiaSociety.org/donate. Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.behmfh.com for the Seese family.

Autumn Chant

Now the autumn shudders

In the rose’s root,

Far and wide the ladders

Lean among the fruit.

Now the autumn clambers

Up the trellised frame

And the rose remembers

The dust from which it came.

Brighter than the blossom

On the rose’s bough

Sits the wizened orange,

Bitter berry now;

Beauty never slumbers;

All is in her name;

But the rose remembers

The dust from which it came.

- Edna St. Vincent Millay