Elinor Martha Weber

Elinor "Dolly" Martha Kruse was born to parents Martha (Shrewsberry) and LeNoir Kruse on December 7, 1936, in Roseburg, Oregon. She was raised along with siblings, Sarita, Lynetta and Lyndon in Roseburg on a farm. Dolly attended Roseburg Junior Academy (grades 1-8). She finished high school at Laurelwood Academy in 3 years and attended Walla Walla College for 3 years.

When she was 8 years old, she had a chance to play the piano and discovered she could "play by ear" and her parents enrolled her in a year of piano lessons. She also learned to play the accordion and organ. This would start her life-long journey as a musician that she blessed many with throughout her life. She was highly sought after to play for church, music programs and to accompany singers. Dolly even tried her hand at composing music and loved playing hymns, polka and patriotic music.

Dolly decided not to finish college, instead, went to work for the Central California Conference (CCC) in the publishing Department. It was there that her talent as a secretary was recognized and she was offered a job at the Seventh-Day-Adventist headquarters in Takoma Park, Maryland. She dedicated her entire work life to the Adventist church. Dolly worked her way up to Administrative Secretary for the President's office. She was very proud of her work and enjoyed all her co-workers and bosses. She also had a side-hustle selling clothes by Queen's Way.

Dolly met Charles Weber at the Alexandria SDA church. Someone had arranged for her sister Lynetta to sing there in order to get Dolly there to meet Charles. Charles was a musician as well and they hit it off and fell in love very quickly. They were married until Charles passed away in July 2012. Charles was the love of her life and loved taking care of him and raising a family with him. Even in her last days she would point to his picture on the wall and say, "that is my sweetheart".

Charles and Dolly welcomed Shelley into their family in 1967. A year later, Heidi was born. Their first home was in Adelphi, Marland. Later, they moved to Beltsville, Maryland close to the elementary school the girls attended.

Charles and Dolly bought a camper and went on many camping trips. They took their family on trips all over the USA and were able to visit 48 states. They went on many camping trips with friends from the church.

Dolly loved Jesus and raised her children in a Christ-centered home. Sabbath was always observed from sunset on Friday until sunset on Saturday. They took their girls to Beltsville Seventh-Day-Adventist Church every Saturday. Dolly played the organ for many services. They later attended Spencerville Seventh-Day-Adventist Church.

Dolly was a very outgoing person and loved to cook and entertain. She made sure delicious and healthy vegetarian meals were served every night to her family. She even put together a cookbook of her favorite recipes that she gave to family and friends. Saturday nights usually involved fruit salad and popcorn. Dolly loved her church family and friends and loved playing "games". She had a competitive streak in her. She also was an enthusiastic shopper and Friday afternoons were usually spent at a local mall.

Dolly's spiritual gift was that of service. She lived to serve others. She never came for a visit empty handed. She would bring small gifts, food, recipes or a new game to play. She taught her daughters the value of "using their time wisely" and to always "anticipate other's needs." Both of her daughters became nurses, probably largely due to watching their mothers care so deeply for others.

Dolly was someone who would not take "no" for an answer. If something needed to happen, she would make it happen. When her daughter Shelley came down with severe hives for over a year, she found the leading specialist in the world for hives and took her to Stony Brook Hospital in Long Island for treatment.

In 1996 her youngest daughter Heidi was diagnosed with breast cancer. She later was diagnosed with osteosarcoma. Heidi underwent chemotherapy, bone marrow transplant, many surgeries and radiation. Dolly worked tirelessly to help Heidi in recovery and watched Heidi's son Zach who was just an infant at the time of Heidi's diagnosis. When Heidi passed after a 7-year battle, it was devastating for her.

After Heidi passed, Dolly and Charles moved to DeLand, Florida to be close to her oldest daughter Shelley. She loved DeLand and enjoyed living in the small Florida town. Her friends Betty and Jim Sines moved in across the street from them, and they enjoyed having a bit of Maryland close by.

While in Florida, Charles was diagnosed with a pancreatic mass. Dolly traveled with her beloved back to Maryland where he underwent a partial Whipple procedure. It took 3 months for his recovery. He became diabetic after the procedure. This was just another challenge Dolly took on by becoming an expert in diabetic culinary skills. Charles later suffered a stroke and was put in a nursing home as he had become "total care". Dolly went to the nursing home every day, feeding, bathing and entertaining him. She would be there sometimes 8 hours a day. Charles passed in 2012, and a bit of the light left Dolly's eyes....

Dolly moved to a small, manufactured home with her dog "Boo Boo." Boo Boo kept her going with walks, but things were never the same after her "sweetheart" died. Her memory started to decline. She knew it was happening. She went to great lengths to prepare for the inevitable.

In 2019, Dolly's mental health declined abruptly in October. Her family placed her in a memory care facility. Then Covid hit. This took its toll on her as she was ostracized from the family. In 2023, she was moved to Blue Palms Nursing home. The staff was amazing.

Dolly continued to know who her daughter was but suffered depression and severe memory loss. She stopped eating eventually. She went to see her Lord and Savior on September 29.

Per Dolly's wishes, there will not be a service. She is survived by family and friends who loved her very much.