Obituary of Dorothy Louise Badders

The sun set on Tuesday October 19th 2021 and the world is so much less bright for the family and friends, neighbors, coworkers and students who were blessed to meet, know and love Dorothy Louise (Wagner) Badders of Villas NJ. She lived a wonderful and full life for 87 years after being born in the Roxborough section of Philadelphia to Paul and Bertha (Rupp) Wagner. After years of piano lessons , she earned a music scholarship to Temple University but ultimately changed course and graduated from Kutztown State College with a BE in Elementary Education and a Masters equivalency which allowed her the opportunity to inspire and educate students for over 28 years in the Brandywine Heights Middle School district in Topton PA. Dorothy loved to travel as much as she loved people and she was able to do both through her role as a chaperone for several years with People to People, Global Student Ambassadors. She traveled for 6 months to Ireland and with no specific itinerary traveled " with the wind " all over the country meeting new friends and singing their beloved Irish ballads in pubs all along the way. Other favorite trips were to Greece @ 80 years young, Malta, Iceland and Spain, but her love for learning the cultures of all places was lifelong. When Dorothy retired, she bought herself her beloved " bungalow by the Bay " and started a new chapter in South Jersey at the suggestion of her buddy / nephew Lou Turner. She embraced her new community by volunteering at the Cape May Lighthouse as a tour guide and was especially proud that she served at the top for 9 of those years sharing her knowledge of the shoreline as well as the history of the lighthouse with many people. She was a member of the Shell Club and served a term as President of Oceanside, a service organization. Her door was always open to all and so many memories were made on the beach looking for sea glass, counting dolphins and of course chasing sunsets. On New Year's Day you would find her watching the Mummers and making her list of winners while enjoying pork and sauerkraut. She religiously picked "her horses "every year in the Triple Crown races for " bragging rights ". All the plays @ the Walnut Street Theatre were thoroughly enjoyed in the front row as well as the Cape May summer concerts she spent singing and clapping along with her best friends Jennie, Mary and Ruth. Dorothy had a passion for anything chocolate, a good cup of coffee, ice cream cones with jimmies and "angel cream" donuts. She loved Westerns and watching Monk, jigsaw puzzles were worth staying up all night to finish and she was a SkipBo and CryptoQuip aficionado. Her special talent for flower arranging and bonsai was well known and she grew more figs on her backyard tree then she could ever give away. There are not enough words to capture her love and the pride that she had for her children, grandchildren, great grandchildren and former students. She was always supportive, a wonderful listener and available to encourage and share in all of our " highs and lows"... her legacy is her love for anyone who was blessed to know her and those of us who did know exactly what a gift she truly was. There will never be another Mommer, Grammy, Darth Vader and we are heartbroken ... and yet so much better people for having had her in our lives. In our hearts and memories forever - sons Mark Vincent and daughter in law Robin of Hackettstown NJ , Dane Alexander - her " Daner Dumpling" of Walpole NH and Lance Zeyher and daughter in law Donna of Shavertown PA, daughters Shana Louise and son in law Ian Hawkins of East Rochester NY and Taren Ann and son in law Dean Zimmerman of New Tripoli PA. Grandchildren Leslie and Charlie Valenti of Buffalo NY , Jillian and Anthony Muscarella of Walworth NY, Cameron Hawkins of Brooklyn NY, Jessica and Ken Beers of Harmony NJ , Christina and Alex Kasarda of Hackettstown, Rachel Zimmerman of New Tripoli , Regen Zimmerman of Denver CO, Elaina Badders and Julia Badders of Walpole NH, Andy, Jack and Katie Zeyher of Shavertown PA. There are also 6 great grandchildren. Dorothy was predeceased by her parents, her sister Bertha Turner and a great granddaughter Vanessa Muscarella. Please join with us on Saturday, November 13th from 10 am - Noon at Evoy Funeral Home @ 3218 Bayshore Road, Cape May NJ to celebrate her life. In lieu of flowers and / or donations, we ask that you please embrace random acts of kindness in memory of Dorothy – lend a hand or an ear, share a compliment or a smile with a stranger, make a donation to the charity of your choice, spread joy when and wherever you can - Our German gal with an Irish "heart and soul "would so appreciate more warmth and goodness in this world. Spit and Petunias … w/ Much Love Always XOXO