Dorothy Linderman

She was born July 2, 1931, to Elbert “Tyner” and Dorothy (nee Brady) Spradling in St. Louis, MO.

She was born on her uncle Gerald’s 17th birthday and her Grandma Spradling thought Geraldine to be the perfect name. It came to be that she grew up as Geraldine, while keeping her legal name of Dorothy (which she didn’t learn until applying for her marriage license).

Her dad’s job moved her family to Michigan just before her 10th birthday.

She met the love of her life while working in the office of a hardware store in Wayne, MI, where she sold a fishing license to a handsome Richard C. Linderman. They married October 25, 1950 in Wayne, MI, and soon after headed to the naval base in Key West, FL, as the Navy called him to serve again after his honorable discharge following World War II. They returned to Michigan, settling in Dearborn, after the Korean War and soon started a family.

As her family grew, she was very involved in her children’s schools as a PTA board member, home room mom and scout leader. She had a naturally gifted artistic talent that she put to use in the 1960s when she became involved in ceramics. Her focus eventually turned to making beautiful reproduction china head doll kits, which Henry Ford Museum and Greenfield Village sold in their gift shops for several years, branded as JL Dolls. After her kids were grown, and the house became quiet, she decided to work retail where she could interact with people. She worked at Jacobson’s, Dearborn, in handbags for a few years.

She was preceded in death by her beloved husband on November 10, 2021.

Surviving her are her four loving children - Karen Fields (Mark), Janice Hammond, Richard P. Linderman, and Carol Mattern (Eric); 11 grandchildren - Anastasia “Stacy” Phillips, Shanna Cayton, Emily Hammond (Nate Putek), Ellen De La Fuente (Anthony), Edward Hammond, Richard A. Linderman (Michelle), Amy Flaisher, Kaitlyn Gilliam (Sean), Jack Mattern (Megan Ploski), Russell Mattern (Kaitlyn), Dean Mattern, and 14 treasured great grandchildren. She is also survived by many loved nieces, nephews, and cousins.

Along with her husband and parents, she was preceded in death by her brother, Elbert Jr. (“Sonny”), her sister, Nancy Moore, and her dear son-in-law, Clifford Hammond.

Services will take place at Great Lakes National Cemetery, Holly, MI, in the Spring.

In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation in her Dorothy's name to the Alzheimer's Association Greater Michigan: https://www.alz.org/gmc/donate

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.HarryjWillRedford.com for the Linderman family.