Dorothy Layher Dorothy Elizabeth Layher, 98, passed away Sunday, May 30, 2010, following a brief illness. While she lived most of her life on the east side of Detroit, she recently resided in Ann Arbor at Huron Woods.

She was born June 24, 1911, in Detroit, to Otto and Marie (nee Schultz) Rohde.

As a child Ms. Layher spoke German in the home until she was six, but later showed an aptitude for English by winning the All- Detroit spelling bee in 1924. A graduate of Eastern High School in Detroit, she worked as a secretary in the Detroit school system before her marriage to Adolph Theodore Layher in 1935. After her two sons reached middle-school age, she was employed at Denby High School for some 20 years.

Mrs. Layher was an active member of Bethany Lutheran Church in Detroit and served for many years as president of its Ladies Guild. She also was a past president of the Valparaiso Guild of Detroit. She enjoyed more than 80 summers at the family’s rustic cottage on Marquette Island in Wilderness Bay.

She is survived by her two sons and their families, Thomas and Mary Layher, and William and Bonnie Layher; five grandchildren and their families, Theodore Layher, William and Karin Layher, Amanda and Anthony Ryan, Kristen and Robert Fladung, and Deborah and Daniel Reese; and 10 great-grandchildren: Oliver, Anna, and Elsa Layher; Joseph and Lila Ryan; Robert and Zachary Fladung; Jackson, Andrew, and Elizabeth Reese.

She was preceded in death by her husband of 45 years, Adolph, and by her brothers Norman and Robert Rohde.

Services were held at Divine Shepherd Lutheran Church in Ann Arbor Saturday, June 5, with interment in Forest Lawn Cemetery in Detroit.

Memorial donations may be directed to Bethany Lutheran Church, 11475 E. Outer Drive, Detroit, MI 48224 or to Huron Woods, 5361 McAuley Drive, P.O. Box 995, Ann Arbor, MI 48106- 0995, or to a charity of choice.