PLEASANT BROOK – Ilse Erika Seitz, 97, of Cherry Valley, NY, peacefully entered into eternal life on July 3, 2026, at Mountainside Residential Care Center in Margaretville, NY.
Ilse was born on March 10, 1929, to Gerhard
and Rose (née Dorfinger) Heinrich in New York City. Raised on Staten Island,
she graduated from Tottenville High School in 1945, and then attended Wagner
College on Staten Island, graduating from one of the first nursing classes and
becoming a Registered Nurse.
After graduation, she followed her parents to
their new dairy farm in Pleasant Brook in the Town of Roseboom and was employed
as a nurse at the Mary Imogene Bassett Hospital in Cooperstown, later becoming
Head Nurse of maternity. After 10 years, she left Cooperstown to attend Boston
University where she earned her Master’s degree in Nursing Supervision.
Since childhood, Ilse had known Martin Roland
Seitz. After the death of Martin’s wife, Edythe in 1960, he and Ilse
reconnected, and on September 2, 1961, they were married in a ceremony at
Evangelical Lutheran Church in Hartwick Seminary. The family made its home in
Yonkers, NY until 1970 when the family of seven drove across the continent and
back in a station wagon before moving to Watertown, NY. Ilse served as a nurse
at the House of the Good Samaritan Hospital in Watertown for 18 years. When
Ilse and Martin retired in 1990, they moved to the family farm in Pleasant
Brook.
Ilse was an active and faithful member of
Evangelical Lutheran Church of Hartwick Seminary.
Surviving Ilse are five children: Karen
(James) Larson of Severna Park, MD, Barbara (Sandy) Ricciardi of Denville, NJ,
John (Anne) Seitz of Kerhonkson, NY, Kurt (Susan) Seitz of Cottekill, NY, and
Erika (Michael) Sherman of Chaumont, NY; eight grandchildren: David (Valerie)
Larson, Thomas (Laura) Larson, Matthew Ricciardi, Michael Ricciardi,
Christopher Ricciardi, Josef Sherman, Johanna Sherman, and April Seitz; seven
great grandchildren: Fox, Jordan, Jacob, Aila, Henry, Rose, and Edward Larson;
as well as two nephews and a niece: Carl (Donna) Schmidt, Peter (Jane) Schmidt,
and Heidi (Ted) Schmidt.
Ilse was preceded in death by her husband,
Martin, and her sister, Ethel Schmidt.
A Memorial Service will be held at
Evangelical Lutheran Church of Hartwick Seminary, at 1 p.m. Sunday, September
6, 2026, with the Rev. Paul R. Messner, pastor officiating. A reception will
follow in Pleasant Brook.
Expressions of sympathy in the form of
memorial gifts may be made to Lutheran World Relief, PO Box 17061, Baltimore,
MD 21297-1061, and Cherry Valley Volunteer Fire Department, PO Box 502, Cherry
Valley, NY 13320
The Connell, Dow & Deysenroth Funeral
Home, 82 Chestnut Street, Cooperstown is serving the family.
