Welcome to the memorial page for
Dulcenia Straeffer Wilder
January 8, 1913 ~ August 9, 2013 (age 100) 100 Years OldShare Tribute:
DULCINEA S. (DUDDY) WILDER
January 8, 1913 – August 9, 2013
Duddy Wilder was born on January 8, 1913 in Louisville, Kentucky to Mr. and Mrs. G. Edgar Straeffer. She graduated from Atherton High School in 1929, and from the University of Louisville with a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemistry in 1933. Duddy was a very active member of Pi Beta Phi sorority, was President of the Women’s Student Government Association, and participated in all sports offered for women. She attended the Louisville Normal School for one year, taught school for one year, and was married to Edward Wilder, Jr. in 1935. They moved to New Mexico in 1945 when Ed’s assignment in the Navy was to a “very secret laboratory” in the Southwest US located in Los Alamos NM. They lived in Los Alamos until 1952, when they moved to Pajarito Village situated along the Rio Grande River in the Espanola Valley where they lived until after Ed’s retirement from the Los Alamos National Laboratory. Ed and Duddy have a large family including three children, nine grandchildren, and eleven great grandchildren. Their family includes Ellen Bradbury Reid and husband Ed Reid of Santa Fe, Edward Marshall Wilder and wife Gale of San Jose California, and Carolyn Montman and husband James of Santa Fe. One granddaughter, Michelle Montman also lives in Santa Fe, the others are scattered over the country. Ed and Duddy moved to El Castillo Retirement Residences in 1990. Ed passed away in 1997, and Duddy passed away at the age of 100 on August 9, 2013. Duddy was a cradle-to-grave Episcopalian and most recently a member of the Church of the Holy Faith located in Santa Fe. She overcame two bouts with cancer and was active in the Reach to Recovery Program. She was a Life Member of the Espanola Hospital auxiliary, Volunteered at the Museum Shop in Santa Fe, and was a willing volunteer for many activities at El Castillo. She will be remembered as a wonderful and loving Wife, Mother, Grandmother, Great Grandmother and friend to all. She was a strong woman who met life’s challenges head on, a willing volunteer who helped support many amazing programs, and a woman whose faith in God was always foremost in her long and beautiful life.
A Memorial Service will be held at The Church of the Holy Faith, 311E Palace Ave at 11:00AM on Saturday August 17, 2013. An informal Celebration of her Life will be held at the El Castillo Retirement Residences Community Room, 250 West Alameda, from 2:00PM to 4:00PM on Saturday, August 17, 2013.
The Wilder family would like to express their deepest gratitude to the wonderful staff at El Castillo Retirement Community.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Duddy’s name to Amigos del Valle, P.O. Box 4057, Fairview, New Mexico, 87533 or the Food Depot of Santa Fe, 1222A Siler Road, Santa Fe, NM 87507, 505/471-1633 ext. #12 or go to www.thefooddepot.org.
January 8, 1913 – August 9, 2013
Duddy Wilder was born on January 8, 1913 in Louisville, Kentucky to Mr. and Mrs. G. Edgar Straeffer. She graduated from Atherton High School in 1929, and from the University of Louisville with a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemistry in 1933. Duddy was a very active member of Pi Beta Phi sorority, was President of the Women’s Student Government Association, and participated in all sports offered for women. She attended the Louisville Normal School for one year, taught school for one year, and was married to Edward Wilder, Jr. in 1935. They moved to New Mexico in 1945 when Ed’s assignment in the Navy was to a “very secret laboratory” in the Southwest US located in Los Alamos NM. They lived in Los Alamos until 1952, when they moved to Pajarito Village situated along the Rio Grande River in the Espanola Valley where they lived until after Ed’s retirement from the Los Alamos National Laboratory. Ed and Duddy have a large family including three children, nine grandchildren, and eleven great grandchildren. Their family includes Ellen Bradbury Reid and husband Ed Reid of Santa Fe, Edward Marshall Wilder and wife Gale of San Jose California, and Carolyn Montman and husband James of Santa Fe. One granddaughter, Michelle Montman also lives in Santa Fe, the others are scattered over the country. Ed and Duddy moved to El Castillo Retirement Residences in 1990. Ed passed away in 1997, and Duddy passed away at the age of 100 on August 9, 2013. Duddy was a cradle-to-grave Episcopalian and most recently a member of the Church of the Holy Faith located in Santa Fe. She overcame two bouts with cancer and was active in the Reach to Recovery Program. She was a Life Member of the Espanola Hospital auxiliary, Volunteered at the Museum Shop in Santa Fe, and was a willing volunteer for many activities at El Castillo. She will be remembered as a wonderful and loving Wife, Mother, Grandmother, Great Grandmother and friend to all. She was a strong woman who met life’s challenges head on, a willing volunteer who helped support many amazing programs, and a woman whose faith in God was always foremost in her long and beautiful life.
A Memorial Service will be held at The Church of the Holy Faith, 311E Palace Ave at 11:00AM on Saturday August 17, 2013. An informal Celebration of her Life will be held at the El Castillo Retirement Residences Community Room, 250 West Alameda, from 2:00PM to 4:00PM on Saturday, August 17, 2013.
The Wilder family would like to express their deepest gratitude to the wonderful staff at El Castillo Retirement Community.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Duddy’s name to Amigos del Valle, P.O. Box 4057, Fairview, New Mexico, 87533 or the Food Depot of Santa Fe, 1222A Siler Road, Santa Fe, NM 87507, 505/471-1633 ext. #12 or go to www.thefooddepot.org.
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