Dolores Cecilia Saner

Born to Alphonse Adolf Miller and Theresa Evangeline (Hoeffel) Miller on January 14, 1929 in Toledo, Ohio, Dodie was the sixth of seven children.

She attended St. Thomas Aquinas Elementary and St. Ursula Academy High School, where she played basketball and softball and learned the piano and violin. After graduating in 1946, she attended business school where she became proficient in typing. At a friends party, Dodie met the love of her life, Elmer Jerome Saner, and the two were married on April 14, 1951 in Toledo. Together they built a beautiful life and within seventeen years, were blessed with ten children, the joy and focus of Dodie’s life.

Dodie took great pride in being a devoted homemaker, known for her energy and firm but loving discipline. In 1978, guided by faith and courage, Dodie and Elmer made the very bold decision to move their large family from Toledo, Ohio to Olympia, Washington, as a new business opportunity arose for Elmer. Purchasing a home, sight unseen, they packed up their Chevrolet and Pontiac station wagons and made the five-day journey just one week before Christmas; a trip full of prayer and hope for what lay ahead.

In 1979, Dodie found a new sense of fulfillment when she joined South Puget Sound Community College as a secretary. She loved the work and the people she met there, staying for fourteen happy years before retiring in 1993, around the same time Elmer semi-retired from Legere Pharmaceuticals.

Their home was always open; a welcoming place where family and friends gathered for birthdays, holidays, and countless spontaneous visits. After retirement, Dodie joined the YMCA and enjoyed water aerobic classes. She and Elmer enjoyed traveling, keeping busy with D.I.Y. projects and supporting their grandchildren’s activities. Dodie was active in her church and Bible study groups, often welcoming others into her home, where her faith was evident in her warmth and gracious spirit.

In her later years, Dodie discovered a deep love for poetry, she wrote heartfelt, handwritten poems for her children and grandchildren celebrating birthdays, weddings, and new babies with words full of warmth and wit. Those who were lucky enough to receive one of her poems treasure them still.

Above all, Dodie’s life centered around her love of family and her steadfast faith. Her relationship with God gave her strength, peace, and joy throughout her life. The moment she “met Jesus as her Savior” was clearly her life-changing event. Her deepest desire was to share her joy and spiritual fullness with everyone she met.

At 96, after six weeks in hospice care, Dodie passed peacefully with her daughter Charlene and son Christopher by her side.

She was preceded in death by her parents, Alphonse and Theresa Miller; brothers, Norbert and Alphonse Miller; sisters, Virginia Miller, Germaine Mastrucci, Rosemary Voegeli, and Angela Sartor; husband, Elmer Saner; daughter, Beverly Moore (Robert), of Olympia, WA; son, Gregory Saner (Laura) of Coeur d’Alene, ID; grandsons, Daniel Moore and Timothy Roderick.

Dodie is survived by her children; Christopher Saner, of Tumwater, WA; Daughter-in-Law, Laura Saner (Gregory) of Coeur d’Alene, ID; Michael Saner, of Peoria, AZ; Kevin Saner, of Tacoma, WA; Jeffrey Saner (Jenny), of Tumwater, WA; Sharon Fox (Scott), of Tacoma, WA; Susanne Litowitz (Lucas), of Tacoma, WA; Charlene Roderick, of Tumwater, WA; and Deanna Del Biaggio, of San Jose, CA; grandchildren; Sonya Moore, David Moore (Sarah), Craig Saner, Jenelle Saner, Brian Saner, Jason Saner (Ashley), Jordan Saner (Chandra), Luke Saner, Samuel Saner, A.J. Wilsie, Mollie Saner, Bradley Saner (Taylor), Ian Saner (Desneige), Jackson Saner, Anna Ott (Jason), Steven Saner (Abbie), Joel Saner, Brandon Saner (Lindsey), Casey Saner, Nick LaVelle (Maira), Ryder Fox, Desmond Morrow, Devin Morrow, Rochelle Roderick (Sean), Jake Roderick (Hailey), Cole Roderick (Ayla), Alec Roderick (Gracie), Nicholas Del Biaggio, Andrew Del Biaggio; along with thirty beloved great-grandchildren, nieces, nephews and dear friends, who will treasure her memory.

A Celebration of Life will be shared once arrangements are finalized.