Janet Rose Dordelman had many talents, her daughters said. From painting to sewing and knitting, “she made everything so beautiful.”
Mrs. Dordelman, who lived in Springs and ran her own beauty salon for many years, retired to Barefoot Bay in Sebastian, Fla. She died at home there on Aug. 8 after a two-year illness. She was 89.
A caregiver to family members and friends in need, “she was called ‘Mom’ by many,” her daughters wrote.
Her artwork included oil paintings and murals and she also painted one-of-a-kind wineglasses for family and friends.
“She sewed beautifully,” her daughters said, whether it was updating the Springs School cheerleading outfits when her younger daughter was captain of the squad or creating tablecloths and chair covers for her older daughter’s tea room in Florida.
She also made centerpieces and napkin rings and knit hats and baby blankets for new moms in need and lap blankets for disabled veterans, which she donated through St. Elizabeth’s Episcopal Church in Sebastian, where she was a member. Here, she attended St. Luke’s Episcopal Church.
Mrs. Dordelman was born in Springs on May 18, 1934, to Caldwell Worm and the former Jennie Harris. She grew up there and attended the Springs School and then East Hampton High School.
On Oct. 5, 1951, when she was 17, she married Robert F. Dordelman. He was deployed to Korea shortly after that, and she went to work at the East Hampton Laundry until his return, when they bought Harris General Store on Springs-Fireplace Road in Springs. They ran the store for 14 years, but Mrs. Dordelman was primarily a homemaker while her two daughters were young.
At 30, she enrolled at the Long Island Beauty School, became a licensed beautician, and went on to run her own shop until she retired in 1990.
Mrs. Dordelman enjoyed music, dancing, cooking, and entertaining, and “insisted on an elaborately set table,” her daughters wrote.
She was an excellent ice skater and swimmer, swimming laps well into her 80s. In later years she usually had a puzzle in progress.
Family time was another joy. “We were all together in April for a baptism and family reunion, her daughters, grandchildren, and their spouses, and great-grandchildren,” her daughters recalled. She “even got into the pool with all of us.”
Her husband died in 1990, and not long after that she retired to the home they had bought in Barefoot Bay. She is survived by her daughters, Robin Laton of Barefoot Bay and Joanne Steckowski of Southampton, and by two grandchildren and four great-grandchildren. Her brother, David Worm, died recently.
Mrs. Dordelman was cremated. A memorial service will be held at a later date.
Her family has suggested memorial donations to the Springs Fire Department, 179 Fort Pond Boulevard, East Hampton 11937, or St. Elizabeth’s Episcopal Church, 901 Clearmont Street, Sebastian, Fla. 32958.
