Dolores Vera Yetka née Smith, of Middletown, was born April 5, 1936, to Anna and Alfred Smith of Jersey City. She was the youngest of three, with two older brothers, Frank and Hubert. As you would expect from older brothers, they called her Sissy.
Dolores met George Arthur Yetka when they were teenagers growing up in Jersey City. Even though George was “going with a lot of girls” back then, Dolores was his sweetheart for life. She became Dolores Vera Yetka when the two were married June 18, 1955, just weeks after her 19th birthday. Not long after, their family of two grew and grew as their nine children were born. Now Dolores was Mom and so much more!
With the family growing and in need of space, George and Dolores purchased an old farmhouse in Middletown. The work and effort to improve and return the house to its former glory was no small feat. Stories of Dolores stripping wallpaper and burning lead paint off the original crown molding are legendary in the Yetka family. What remained after those years of work is not just a house, but a beautiful home to this day.
With nine children comes an endless need for food, clothing and entertainment. Mom cooked, sewed outfits and played and sang the richest music into her children’s lives. This was more than a household, but a haven, not only to the children, but to the dozens of friends who were welcomed in without hesitation.
When George decided he was going to start a mechanical contracting company of his own in 1973, Mom was at his side every step of the way. From a humble start being run out of the barn on the property, the George A. Yetka Corp grew into a small part of their legacy. By the time of their retirement, the family now spanned three generations, as the grandchildren started coming. Mom was now Little Nanny (since her mother was Big Nanny), and soon just Nanny.
Nanny and Pop spent their winters in the Virgin Islands, on the boat they loved, Trust Me. They traded the boat for an R.V. and saw the U.S. from Florida to Alaska and back again. Summers were spent gardening or sitting by the pool in the back yard. There were always a few weeks spent in Bar Harbor, Maine. No matter where they went, they were together, and their kids, grandkids and great-grandkids were sure to join.
It’s impossible to describe Nanny briefly. Her gaze was both piercing and delicate, as I suppose a mother of nine must be. Both sweet and stern. With her hands she created home, paintings, quilts and clothes, taking such care in her craft. Her voice impressed in many ways, from her lovely singing voice to the way she would shout “George!” throughout the house whenever she needed him. Though she undoubtedly whispered his name just a few days before their 63rd wedding anniversary, lying in bed as she said goodbye to her sweetheart one last time.
After pouring into her family, and her family pouring into her for several more years, Dolores lay in bed in the home she and George built, surrounded by those who called her Sissy, Mom, or Nanny, there to say goodbye one last time.
Dolores was predeceased by her dear husband George; by three sons, Greg, Wayne and George II; and by one grandson Jason and son-in-law Scott Hieber. She is survived by: daughter Susan and her husband Thomas Bucks of Holmdel; daughter-in-law Debbie Jo of Holmdel; daughter Cheryl of Tinton Falls; son Scott and his wife Nancy of Navesink; daughter Lisa and her husband Stephen Schultheis of Tinton Falls; daughter Jennifer and her husband Michael Herdeen of Holmdel; and daughter Christine of Manasquan. She is also survived by her 21 grandchildren and their dear spouses and fiancés and her 26 (soon to be 29) great-grandchildren.
Visitation will be from 2-4 and 7-9 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 2 at Thompson Memorial Home, 310 Broad St., Red Bank. A funeral service will be held at 10 a.m. Monday, October 3 at the funeral home. Interment will follow at Fair View Cemetery, Middletown.
The article originally appeared in the September 29 – October 5, 2022 print edition of The Two River Times.
