Obituary of Dorothea Baratta
Dorothea Baratta of Somers, New York, passed away peacefully in her sleep on Monday, October 28, 2024.
Dorothea was born on November 8, 1933, in Elbingerode, Germany. Although most of her childhood was during the Depression and World War II, she was surrounded by a large and loving extended family, where laughter helped them to get through the difficult times. In her twenties, she escaped East Germany and moved to Hamburg, Germany where she began her apprenticeship as a banker. In 1961, Dorothea decided to pack up her belongings and move to the United States for a two-year adventure. She never expected to spend the next 63 years in New York.
Dorothea first lived in the Sunnyside section of Queens with close friends that she met on the boat trip to the United States and friends from Germany. She began working at the Manhattan Savings Bank on Upper East Side. While out dancing on a rainy night with friends at the Lorelei, Dorothea met Michael Baratta. They fell in love and were married in June 1966. They started their married life in Flushing, Queens where they had two children, Thomas and Christine. In 1980, they moved to Somers, New York, where Dorothea would spend the rest of her life.
As Dorothea’s children were getting older, she decided to go back to work. She worked at the Manhattan Savings Bank in Mount Kisco from 1984 until 1999, where she made many great friends and loved taking care of her customers. Dorothea could not walk through Mount Kisco without stopping to talk to the many people that she knew from the bank.
Dorothea’s laugh was contagious, as was the smile on her face. Even during the difficult times, she always stayed positive. Dorothea retired in 1999 and spent much of the next decades helping to take care of her grandchildren. Her grandchildren adored her and she played an important part of their life. She also helped to take care of her husband, Mike, who suffered from dementia until he died. After Mike’s death, Dorothea spent her time with family, friends and was an active member of the Trinity Lutheran Church in Brewster.
Dorothea is survived by her daughter and son in law, Christine and Aaron Spencer and her grandchildren, Elizabeth, Colleen, Tommy and Megan, also of Somers. She is predeceased by her son Thomas Baratta (1986) and her husband Michael (2013). Dorothea was so incredibly lucky to have Dianne Williams and Annette Hawkins to help care for her over the past few years, they too became part of the family.
A celebration of life will be held in spring and Dorothea’s final resting place will be at St. Joseph’s Cemetery in Somers.
