Dolores "Dorsey" Lebeis

Dolores "Dorsey" Amendola Lebeis

Age 65, of Ardencroft, Delaware succumbed to cancer on December 7, 2011.

Born on January 27, 1946, to Bart and Anita Amendola in Queens, NY, Dorsey at a young age moved with her family to Reading, PA where her father managed Pomeroy's Department Store. She graduated from Muhlenberg High School in 1963 and from Penn State University in 1967 where she had majored in interior design.

Dorsey married Richard Lebeis in 1968. The couple lived in Media, PA until moving to Ardencroft, Delaware in 1976. Their son Andrew C. Lebeis was born on August 1, 1970. Her involvement in the community was dedicated and enduring. She was Ardencroft's Town Secretary for many years as well as Chair of the Safety Committee. She served as a member of the Recreation Committee, procured funding for and ran a summer youth employment program for the three Ardens, and at one time, coordinated the Arden Community Recreation Association summer program. Vibrantly active within the Arden Club for over thirty years, she was a cook with the rest of the "founding crew" for the annual Kick-off Chateaubriand Dinner, the Arden Fair Captain in charge of organizing craft exhibitors, and the person in charge of the Annual Arden Holiday Shop. She was also a long-time member of the Gardeners Gild and kept inside their home a banana tree and a fourteen-foot-tall dracaena plant, along with numerous other well nurtured potted plants. Outdoor gardens were equally tended and productive.

With her husband, Dorsey enjoyed walking and looking for Indian artifacts in local fields, exploring ancient cities in the Western hemisphere--including many that are not on any known maps. Other pastimes were boating, snorkeling tropical reefs and appreciating the palm trees in St. Croix, other Caribbean islands, Florida Keys, Hawaii, Tahiti, Moorea, and Bora Bora.

As an avid flea-market shopper Dorsey collected pottery, baskets, aluminum ware, art glass, and more. She enjoyed animals, including her appaloosa horse Tashena and over the years, each of her dogs (Velvet, Babydog, and HoneyBear) and cats (Mostel, Izzy, and Enzo). She helped design and build the family home in Ardencroft and a cabin in Tioga County, PA. Further interests were snowmobiling, four-wheeling, and driving stick-shift in her Ford Probe GT (with its "Door C" license plate) and her 1950 Chevy pickup.

Dorsey was a consummate crafter in needlework, painting, and gift-creating. She was an avid recycler before there were recycling programs and a supporter of the Nature Conservancy, Sierra Club, and the Audubon Society.

She will be lovingly missed by Dick, her husband of forty-three years; their son Andy and his wife Heather and their children, granddaughter Carina and grandson Henry of Underhill, VT; her mother, Anita Amendola; her sister Marge and brother-in-law Ray Bailey; her maternal aunt and uncle Gene and Ed Gleason all of Reading, PA; numerous cousins, nieces, nephews, and friends.

There will be a Celebration of Life gathering in honor of Dorsey at 8 pm, December 30, at the Arden Gild Hall, 2126 The Highway, Arden, Delaware 19810.

In lieu of flowers, please make any memorial donations to the Arden Club (address as above) or to a charity of choice.

GEBHART FUNERAL HOMES
www.griecofuneralhomes.com
(302) 798-7726