Birth date: Sep 27, 1949 Death date: May 9, 2026
Doris Ann Zebley, age 76, passed away peacefully on May 9, 2026, with her family by her side. Born on September 27, 1949, Doris was the youngest daughter of John and Dorothy Dietrich Tjaden. She spent her formative years in Brid Read Obituary
Doris Zebley
14 May 2026
Eulogy By LTC Steve Dietrich, U.S. Army (Ret)
Doris Zebley isn’t supposed to be here today. She should have been here 73 years ago. But Doris and God collaborated to pull off a huge miracle those many decades ago and she has been cheating death ever since.
Doris should have died when she was just 3 years old. She was playing under her dad’s farm truck. Her dad, uncle Johnny Tjaden, who had been an Army medic in World War II – the troops called him “Doc” – and shared with me some of the horrors of combat he had seen, did not know that she was under the truck. He got in, backed it up, the tires dipped down in ruts, and when Uncle Johnny looked up he saw Doris, who had been crushed in her midsection by the differential of the truck when it dipped. He picked the little broken body up, carried her inside crying, and the man who had worked to keep dying GIs alive exclaimed to his wife “I’ve killed Doris.”
Somehow, using 1950’s medical technology, the doctors were able to save her. I’m sure they had some help from above to save this special little girl. Throughout her life she endured about 20 operations. When she was diagnosed with bladder cancer some months ago, the doctors determined it was inoperable because her internal organs were all mixed up and out of place and surrounded by layers of scar tissue. Initially defeated, she summoned her innate courage and decided to continue with the new fight, and we thought she had won this battle, too.
Most people who have had a near death experience are much older than three years when it happens and tend to make the most of their remaining years. Somehow, little Doris had such wisdom and lived life to the fullest. She was always so happy, cheerful, pleasant, and full of life that you could never tell how hard she had fought her entire life just to keep going, unless you knew. She was one of the easiest people to be around – no stress, no drama, just that joie de vivre, happy to spend time with someone she liked, and she made sure that we all enjoyed spending time with her. If I ever heard a disparaging word from her about someone else, it was only because she wanted them to do better.
For someone who spent the last 73 years of her life cheating death, Doris was an inspiration of how to live life large and bring joy to those around you.
Doris and her sister, Margaret, were the only children their parents had. Their mother, aunt Dottie Dietrich Tjaden, and my father, Edward Dietrich, were also only siblings, the children of John and Lilly Boevers Dietrich of Federalsburg. That makes Doris and me first cousins.
Doris was about four and a half when I was born. I lived in Georgetown and she lived about 15 minutes away on the way to Bridgeville.
I was an only child until I was 10 and had only two other cousins near my age during my early childhood.
So, Doris adopted me as “the brother she never had” and we spent all the time together that we could. People often asked me what our age difference was and I would answer “I don’t know” because it never mattered to either of us. I sometimes called her “sis.” I spent the next to last week of her life at her bedside holding hands while we reminisced about our times together and shared some of Pop Pop Dietrich’s 55 year-old wine – meds be damned!
Inspired largely by our fathers’ time in the military, I spent a quarter century in uniform. I both loved but often regret the time I missed with family and friends during the many years I was stationed overseas or in far-away Army posts. But by God, when Doris and I were able to be together, we made up for the time lost. When you say to a veteran “thank you for your service,” I hope you understand this type of personal sacrifice made not just by the military person, but by their dear friends and family, alike.
May you rest in peace my dear friend.
And thanks to Doris’ sister Margaret, and devoted husband Ralph, for all the love and care you gave her
