Dorothy Stoiber

AUSTINTOWN - A Mass of Christian Burial will be held Saturday at noon, at St. Charles Borromeo Church, preceded by a 11:15 a.m. prayer service at the Higgins-Reardon Funeral Homes, Boardman-Canfield Chapel, for Dorothy Miller Cerretta Stoiber, 87, who died Dec. 4, of complications resulting from a stroke suffered in early November. She was a resident of Briarfield Manor Assisted Living facility in Austintown.

Born March 12, 1928, in Youngstown, Mrs. Stoiber was the daughter of Joseph and Marie Miller, and sister of Teresa Miller Drake (deceased).

She graduated from Youngstown's South High School in 1946 and afterwards worked at the General Electric Youngstown Lamp Plant for several years.

Mrs. Stoiber married Edward T. Cerretta, an employee of the Mahoning County Title Department, in 1956, and in 1963 gave birth to a son, Thomas Cerretta. The family lived in Boardman. In 1970, her husband died of a sudden heart attack, leaving Dorothy to raise her son.

In 1971, Dorothy was introduced to Walter Stoiber, a widower with a family of seven children, who lived in Austintown, and the two hit it off immediately. They both liked to dance to Sinatra tunes and enjoy nights out. Dorothy eagerly embraced Mr. Stoiber's favorite pastime, golf, which soon became her passion as well. They were married in Youngstown, in January of 1972, after which they bought a large house in Canfield for the blended family.

Marrying into a large family, full of strong personalities, would challenge anyone, but Dorothy's love and devotion to her husband and his gang of seven saw her through. She loved to laugh and joke, gave as good as she got, and countenanced the teasing in good spirits, even when she was the target.

Always upbeat and smiling, Mrs. Stoiber was an accomplished cook, hostess, and raconteur, and was indeed in her element when the grown kids and their young families would come from all over the map to visit for the Christmas holidays. Many an appetite was spoiled when the kids made a beeline for her signature holiday sweets, fruit and nut kolachy, kiffles, and her sinfully rich choco-peano-squares, before dinner was served.

Years later, when the children had grown and gone, and her husband had retired from a career with the Prudential Insurance Company, the couple sold the Canfield home and bought a condominium in Boardman, near Mill Creek Park Golf Course, where they often enjoyed a round together. The Stoibers were long time members of Sebring Country Club, where Mrs. Stoiber loved to "get out with the gals" or play in a foursome with her husband and other couples. For many years, she and her husband joined a large group of "snowbirds" to spend the month of February in Myrtle Beach, S.C., golfing, shopping and enjoying each other's company.

The Stoibers were parishioners of St. Charles in Boardman, and members of the Youngstown Saxon Club for many years.

In 2013, with their health declining, the Stoibers moved from the condo they loved to Briarfield Manor. Her husband, Walter, died on June 12, 2014, at the age of 97, after 42 years of incomparable happiness with Dorothy at his side. Though grieving, Mrs. Stoiber would often recount how happy she was that Walter had passed peacefully, just as they had wanted. That knowledge gave her great peace in her remaining days.

Mrs. Stoiber is survived by a large and boisterous family, her son, Tom Cerretta; her stepchildren, Carole Napolitano and Denny, Gary, Doug, Jeff, Julie, and Randy Stoiber; her grandchildren, Elyse, Jocelyn, Dante, Nick, Emily, Andrew, Lily, Cole, Marcus, Julia, Luke, Rachel, Phoebe, Ava, and Lindsay; her great-grandchildren, Ellory, Soren, Piers, Graham, Tessa, Enzo, Oliver, Isla, Faye, and Audrey; her stepchildren's spouses, Stephen Napolitano, Jeannette Stoiber, Carole Stoiber, Maggie Hudak, Doug Hostvedt, and Lisa Stoiber; the spouses of her grandchildren, Jeremy, Tim, Chris, Kyle, Andy, and Alyssa; nephew John Drake; nieces Colleen Drake and Kim Moser; and great-niece Kelsey Moser.

Family and friends may call on Friday from 6 to 8 p.m., and again on Saturday from 10 until 11:15 a.m. at the funeral home.

Interment will be at Calvary Cemetery, Youngstown.

Mrs. Stoiber's family requests that, in lieu of flowers, donations be made in her name to the Mill Creek Park Foundation, www.millcreekmetroparks.org or P.O. Box 596, Canfield, OH 44406.