Hope Doetzer

Hope Doetzer
April 13, 1937 – November 26, 2025
It is with profound sadness that I announce the passing of my sweet momma, Hope Doetzer, on
November 26, 2025. After a brief hospital stay, she was unexpectedly diagnosed with Stage IV
lung cancer. It all came as a great shock. After 88 years of remarkably good health, I believe
she chose not to endure the suffering that treatment would have brought.
November passed in a blur, but since she came to live with us in Chicago in 2023, we truly
made those two years count. We are so grateful for the many happy memories we created
together—Oktoberfests, birthdays, shopping trips, and countless moments of simple, beautiful
time with me and Kulmeet and her beloved grandsons, Ben and Otis. My friends welcomed her
into our “Broad Band” with open arms and full hearts, and she delighted in many visits,
gatherings, and celebrations with them.
She was not only my mother—she was my best friend. I will miss her beyond words. She was
loving and kind, had a wide-open heart and mind, and loved a good party more than most.
Hope was born on April 13, 1937, in Freeport, New York, the cherished baby of a close,
family-oriented home. Throughout her life, she was so many things to so many people: a
devoted daughter, a loving sister, a cherished wife, a beloved “Aunt Hope” to her nephews and
their growing families, and a Nana even to friends who felt like family.
She was preceded in death by her husband and my father, Thomas Doetzer, who fell in love
with her the moment he met her—though she liked to say he was “a pain in the ass” whose
persistence finally wore her down. His love letters to her while he served in the Army, which she
kept her entire life, are a testament to their true and enduring love. She was also preceded in
death by her parents, Gladys and William Duryea; her sister and best friend, Faith Mazzota,
and brother-in-law Vincent Mazzota; her sister-in-law Thelma Duryea; and her nephews Bill
(Karuna) Duryea and Jason (Rhonda) Mazzota. We like to imagine she is joyfully reunited
with them all, raising a toast with her favorite—a shot of Obstler.
Family was the true joy of her life. After moving from Baldwin, New York, to Florida in 1986, she
grew ever closer to her nephews, who took such loving care of her there. I cannot thank them
enough for all they did while I lived so far away. Bud (Ellie) Mazzota, Walter (Amy) Mazzota,
Dennis (Gina) Duryea, and Michael (Debbie) Duryea, along with all of their children and
grandchildren—she loved you all so very much. May you remember Aunt Hope with love and
happy memories.
Hope is survived by her nearly 99-year-old brother, Bill Duryea; her “adopted” daughter Dot
(Mark) Brugnoli and their daughters Megan and Kristen; and her daughter Deb (Kulmeet)
Doetzer, Kulmeet’s children Grace (Ben) Green and Evan Galhotra along with her cherished
grandsons, Ben and Otis Klawans. She was endlessly proud of you both and loved you with all
her heart.

I am still in disbelief that she is no longer with us. May her memory be a blessing to all who
knew and loved her. And as she always used to say, “What’s not to love?” There was truly
nothing about her—or the way she lived her life—that wasn’t to be loved.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to your favorite charity or to St. Jude Children’s
Research Hospital, which she supported faithfully every year, in her honor.
A Celebration of Life for friends and family in Florida will be held on Saturday, January 24,
2026 (details forthcoming).
A Celebration of Life  will be held in Chicago on Saturday, January 31, 2026,
at 12:00 p.m. at Jim and Pete’s Restaurant, 7806 W. North Ave., Elmwood Park, IL 60707.