Mildred Grace Seestead

  General Notes:

He [Erich] left Aunt Mildred when Marilyn was a toddler, and went to Calif. He seemed to be Grandma Doering (Benjamin's ) favorite son, and the sisters were very upset with him for leaving his family. Aunt Mildred kept close with all the family all these years. One story I was told, that times were very hard, and she would even mend (darn) her wash cloths to make them last longer. Even though Erich's trips were few and far between, Marilyn couldn't stand it that her father would be buried in Calif. so she went out and brought the body back and had it buried in Michigan. Mildred will be buried with her family, but not near Erich. I last saw Mildred at Leona's 75th birthday party. She also came to the 80th party also. Uncle Ted Smith would always take her to the family get-together when they were in there 70's and 80's.
She was in the hospital in March and April being treated for Pneumonia, and they didn't suspect Cancer. In her letters the past couple of years she would always say how tired she got, but would blame it on her OLD age! Her penmanship was beautiful until just the past Christmas. She would always send us a thank you note after each card we sent. A very fine LADY. Marilyn went to see her on Mothers day, as she was back in the hospital, and the staff ask her to come back on Tuesday, as they needed to make decision about her living arrangements. (she had her own little Apt. in a senior citizens complex in Dearborn.) The hospital wanted to put a tube in her to help her breathing, and it was then that they discovered she was full of cancer. ⁷³

Mildred married Erich Wilhelm Doering, son of Carl Frederick Doering and Katherine Zielke, on 12 Jun 1924 in Michigan. (Erich Wilhelm Doering was born on 6 Sep 1903 in Bay City, Bay, Michigan, USA, died on 9 Nov 1986 in Hawthorne, California and was buried in Kalamazoo, Kalamazoo, Michigan.)