Obituary: Doris Ethel Kittendorf

Doris Ethel Kittendorf (November 28, 1929 – September 25, 2020)

Doris Ethel Kittendorf, 90, passed away peacefully Friday, September 25, 2020 at the Chelsea Retirement Community, Chelsea, Michigan. She was born on Thanksgiving Day, November 28, 1929, in Wayne, Michigan to William and Edna (Waechter) Krueger. She grew up on a farm in Romulus Township. During that time she was a 4-H club leader. In 1949 she married William Kittendorf, and they lived on part of his father’s farm in Taylor, Michigan for thirty years; in 1980 they moved to Manchester.

To further her education, she enrolled in a GED program in 1964. The following year, she was a student at Eastern Michigan University where she graduated in 1969 Summa Cum Laude. She then enrolled in the University of Michigan where she earned a Master’s Degree in 1971 and a Doctorate in English Language and Literature in 1975. She taught at Oakland Community College, U-M Dearborn, and Henry Ford Community College. Doris also taught technical communication to professional employees in classes in manufacturing plants in Detroit. She was part of a team that transposed classes on written and oral communication to correspondence courses for the Cleveland Institute of Electronics.

Dr. Kittendorf retired from teaching in 1993. She was a Sunday School Teacher in St. Paul United Church of Christ in Taylor and a Bible Class Teacher in Emanuel United Church of Christ in Manchester. She and Bill were active members of Emanuel United Church of Christ and the Farm Bureau. In addition to her love of reading and writing poetry, Doris loved all aspects of homemaking, especially her gardens and flowers. She wrote her own biography and put Bill’s life story into a poem. Doris also enjoyed travel to Europe, including Kittendorf, Germany, Israel, and the United States.

Doris is survived by her two daughters, Joanne (David) Duff of Manchester and Barbara (Jamie) Hickerson of Buffton, South Carolina; and three granddaughters, Erin Martin, Claire (David Hoover) Kane of Raleigh, North Carolina, and Shannon Kane of Loveland, Colorado.

Doris’s immediate family held a private service at Emanuel United Church of Christ, Manchester. Rev. Chris Kurtz served as celebrant. Memorial contributions are suggested to the Alzheimer Association, the Chelsea Retirement Community, or Arbor Hospice. Please leave a message of comfort for Doris’s family or sign her guestbook at www.EinederFuneralHomes.com.

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by Sara Swanson

Sara Swanson is an editor, writer and founder of the Manchester Mirror.