Dorothy Adrian Weber

Dorothy Adrian (Martin) Weber of Arlington Heights died May 26, 2025 at the age of 92. She was born in Chicago to Maximillian J. and Magdelena (Naegle) Martin in 1933. Dorothy attended St. Priscilla’s elementary school and Cardinal Stritch High School where she developed her love of reading. After graduation she worked at A&P Tea Company.

She met her future husband, George Weber, on a blind date; after dating for several years, they married at St. Priscilla’s Catholic Church in 1953 and immediately set off for Clovis Air Force Base in New Mexico, where George was stationed for three months with the Air National Guard. There Dorothy established the first of her and George’s six homes—this one in the windy, hilly eastern part of the state. Upon their return to Chicago, Dorothy and George set up housekeeping in an apartment on the city’s north side. In 1956 George and Dorothy purchased their first house in the relatively new suburb of Rolling Meadows where Dorothy set about raising her young family in a tiny two-bedroom house.

Following the birth of her fourth child in 1961, the family moved to Arlington Heights first living for twenty years within walking distance of Our Lady of the Wayside (OLW) Church and school. While raising her children Dorothy served OLW by volunteering in the school in a number of capacities. Two of the most rewarding involved her love of reading. Around 1967, while her oldest child was in junior high, Dorothy became a Junior Great Books® program leader and continued this activity through the early 1970s. Later in that decade she professionalized the school library. Although not a trained librarian, she researched and implemented the Dewey Decimal system and applied her knowledge of books to organizing, weeding, and enhancing the library’s collection.

Dorothy was proud of her chosen a life as a homemaker. Her dedication to caring for her family and home was evident in her ability to cook varied, nutritious meals; bake fantastic bread, yeast rolls, and sticky buns; run a household of six; and sew her and her children’s clothes. Her lessons in home economics were passed on to her children, each of whom learned to cook, bake, sew, and run their own homes at her knee. She also embroidered: beautiful large-scale crewel work in the then-popular Jacobian style, pillows, and wall hangings that are now treasured family heirlooms.

Dorothy was a life-long reader. Her home always held books of all varieties from dozens of titles in the Time Reading Program subscription series to mysteries, biographies, especially of Abraham Lincoln, and later histories of World War II and the American Civil War, and the poetry of Robert Frost and Shel Silverstien. By her example, her children, too, read anything and everything.

in 1983, George and Dorothy created Anita’s Cards and Gifts to operate Anita’s Hallmark in Chicago’s Portage Park neighborhood which allowed George to fulfill his dream of owning his own business. They ran this enterprise for ten years. During these years Dorothy also became a businesswoman attending Hallmark conferences and training sessions, going on buying trips, and selecting store inventory. Dorothy’s aesthetic shone in the beautiful Gold Crown store filled with interesting items attractively displayed.

In retirement Dorothy resumed a life of service putting her sewing, organizing, and retail skills to work by donating thousands of hours to assist senior citizens at the Lutheran Home on Oakton Street. In her quiet way, Dorothy befriended many residents and as a member of the Safety Committee, she was dedicated to the safety and well-being of both residents and staff. She organized an outdated craft room to facilitate resident quilting and sewing projects and worked with the residents making many dozens of wreaths, dolls, and small embroideries annually to sell during the auxiliary sales. She also accompanied residents to medical appointments and social outings and was known as “The Popcorn Lady” who provided a weekly highlight for Lutheran Home residents and staff by making and serving popcorn on Fridays.

Dorothy was predeceased by George Weber, her husband of 69 years; and by her brothers Edward, William, and Laurence and her sister Adrienne Clark. She is is survived by her four children – Anita Weber of Maryland, Catherine Woods and Joan Weber Kennedy (Craig) of Wisconsin, and Michael Weber (Christina Liu) of California; five grandchildren—Matthew Fournelle (Anna), Christina Fournelle Landgraf (Gary), Emma Kennedy (James Hughes), Brian Kennedy (Betsy Ebsen), and Angela Liu Weber; eleven great-grandchildren and one great-great-granddaughter. She is also survived by her sister Nancy Torgerson (Richard) of Illinois; her brothers-in-law William Weber and Daniel Weber of Illinois and sister-in-law Elizabeth “Betty Mae” Weber of California; and twenty-one nieces and nephews.

Services private.