DeLoris Doederlein received a 100th birthday surprise Monday night when the East Dundee Village Board cited the longtime resident’s accomplishments in a proclamation and presented her with a key to the village.
East Dundee is “inspired by her love of the village and her numerous contributions to the community” and “offers her sincere best wishes for continued good health, happiness, and an overflowing abundance of love and joy,” according to the proclamation, which was read out loud by Trustee Kathleen Mahony.
Oct. 6, 2025, was designated as DeLoris Doederlein Day in the village.
“We also have this little piece of hardware,” said Mahony, who presented Doederlein with a golden key to the village.
The newly-minted centenarian, who was feted with a birthday party over the weekend at West Dundee VFW Post 2298, said she was surprised by the honor. Accompanied to the meeting by her daughter Martha Lehman, Doederlein was persuaded to attend under the pretense that the village needed her to sign a document.
A native of Indiana, Doederlein moved to East Dundee in 1953 after she married Fred Doerderlein, a lifelong village resident. She graduated from Valparaiso University and National Louis University, and was a teacher for Community Unit District 300 and at Immanuel Lutheran School in East Dundee.
Doederlein was elected as a Republican to the Illinois House in 1987 and served there as a state representative until 1993.
She and her husband, who died in 2011, owned and operated Doederlein Lumberyard in downtown Dundee, and were a driving force behind the construction of The Depot Market and Visitor’s Center.
Recently, Doederlein sold the now-closed lumberyard to the village, which is now reviewing plans to use the site for a residential and retail development that would include a community theater.
“I love East Dundee,” said Doederlein, who cited the village’s greatest strength as its sense of community, especially among the downtown shops and restaurants.
Everyone asks her the secret to living to age 100, she said. “I always give a smart aleck answer,” Doederlein joked.
But she really believes the secret is praying, she said.
“There is power in prayer,” Doederlein said. “God must have his plans for me. I feel good.
“My goal is to live to 110. I’ll take it 10 years at a time,” she said.
Gloria Casas is a freelance reporter for The Courier-News.