Doreen T. Steuteville, 100, passed away peacefully on June 11, 2024, surrounded by family, at her home in Virginia Beach, Virginia.
She was born July 31, 1923, in Medicine Hat, Alberta, Canada. Her parents were Jane (Jean) Wallace, and John George Dryden, both immigrants from the UK. At the time, Medicine Hat was a city of less than 10,000 people, and Doreen grew up on the edges of the prairie. As an adolescent, she babysat for Richard Taylor, a future Nobel laureate in physics, who grew up nearby.
After graduating high school, with many of her male classmates leaving to fight in World War II, Doreen worked as a secretary at a local mill. After developing allergies there, she moved to Edmonton, Alberta, where she got a job with Bechtel, the American firm in charge of civil engineering for the construction of the Alaska highway.
After the war, she moved east to Montreal to work. While there, she took a job at Trans-Canada Air Lines (later Air Canada), a relatively new business then, allowing her to travel back home while on leave. The airline position moved her to Goose Bay, Labrador, a remote outpost that shared an airport with the US military. There, she met the love of her life, US Navy pilot William V. Steuteville. They were married in 1949 in Montreal and were together until he died in 2012.
Soon after marriage, they moved to Patuxent River, Maryland, near where Bill was stationed. In Maryland, their daughters Janet and Sara were born. Bill was then stationed in San Diego, and the couple moved to La Jolla, California.
They moved back to Maryland before their son William was born, and then the family went to Naples, Italy, from 1958 to 1961, where Robert was born. Doreen was an excellent self-taught cook who learned a great deal about Italian cuisine during her three years in Italy.
Upon returning to the United States, the family lived in Cherry Hill, New Jersey, for five years, and settled in Wyncote, Pennsylvania, in 1966. When all the children were in school, Doreen re-entered the workforce, first working for Wanamaker’s department store in New Jersey and then as a personal assistant to Julius Rosenwald III, an heir to the Sears Roebuck fortune, which initiated Doreen’s lifelong interest in the Rosenwald charitable schools. For about 15 years, Doreen worked for Interstate Fleets, a car-leasing company in Glenside, Pennsylvania.
After briefly residing in Dresher, Pennsylvania, Bill and Doreen moved to Virginia Beach in 1985, to join a large Naval community. They had a house on Hunters Wood Way for nearly 20 years, finally moving to Atlantic Shores retirement community, where the couple lived until he died, and Doreen has lived since. Over the last four decades, Virginia Beach has become a destination for the family. An annual Beach Week reunion tradition coincides with Doreen’s birthday (which she shared with Bill, who was exactly one year older).
Over her long life, Doreen was an avid home decorator, scouring East Coast antique shops with her husband to find good deals in fine furniture pieces. She also enjoyed sewing and producing window treatments, cushions, and clothing. She loved old houses and knew a lot about traditional architectural styles. She loved reading and watching well-produced movies and TV series. Bill and Doreen enjoyed good food, gardening, and walks on nature trails. She was active on committees at Atlantic Shores, her Tuesday night dinner group, and bridge. She enjoyed traveling to Britain and Canada to visit her relatives. She loved spending time with her grandchildren.
She is survived by her children Janet Carlson (Craig), Sara Brown (David), William D. Steuteville (Sheila Briggs), and Robert (the late Sarah); seven grandchildren Emily Brown, Elizabeth Brown (Michal Kolesar), Daniel Brown (Tara Searight), William B. Steuteville, James Steuteville, Robin Steuteville, and Skye Steuteville; and four great-grandchildren Filip, Evelyn, Emil, and Abigail. She is also survived by three nieces, Jeanie Weikle, Margot Mack, and Mary Nichols, and three nephews, William and John Fitzgibbon and Dick leMaistre. She is predeceased by her sister and brother-in-law, Jintie and Alan Graham.
Memorial donations may be made to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, 262 Danny Thomas Place, Memphis, TN 38105. A memorial service is planned for 3:00 pm on June 29 at the Anchor Room of the Atlantic Shores Retirement Community, 1200 Atlantic Shores Drive in Virginia Beach, VA. Condolences may be expressed at www.simplycremationonline.com.
