Doris Wessberg Sliker of Shelter Island died on October 12 at Stony Brook Eastern Long Island Hospital in Greenport, two months shy of her 101st birthday. Her two daughters were by her side.
Until she entered the hospital, she gave every indication she’d make that birthday. She rode a stationary bicycle at the FIT Center alongside her dear friend, Jeanne Woods. She was also a regular at Susan Binder’s seated ZUMBA class on Zoom.
Her mind was just as active, her family recalled. Doris did the daily New York Times crossword puzzle and even as her eyesight began to fail, with the help of her iPad, she’d beat her children and grandchildren on “Words with Friends.” She regularly achieved “genius level” in the NYT Spelling Bee, and often got Wordle in three tries.
Always an avid reader, Doris volunteered until she was 90 at the Shelter Island Library, where people planned their book returns for the days she was working. She was a wonderful cook; her pot roast and cucumber salad were legendary.
She was still cooking nightly for herself into her mid-90s. If you happened to call between 7 and 8 PM, she may mention she was making dinner while watching the PBS News Hour and sipping Duggan’s Dew Scotch, which she jokingly called the secret of her longevity and enjoyed from a crystal tumbler.
Born in 1922 and raised in Irvington, NJ, Doris was the daughter of immigrants, Nils Wessberg from Sweden, and Anna Burger from Austria-Hungary. She was engaged to Lawrence Sliker in 1942; they married in 1946 after he returned from the war.
They raised three children in Colonia NJ, where Doris worked at John F. Kennedy High School as secretary to the principal, and later as the office manager.
The couple first came to Shelter Island in the 60s, while visiting friends. Larry was a sailor and in 1974, they bought property here. With the help of friends and family, they built a house and in 1986, moved to the Island full-time.
Their home became the center of family life with everyone traveling from around the country to spend holidays together. Summers, too, where the kids would attend “Camp Grandma and Grandpa.”
Doris is survived by her daughters, Leslie LaRocca (Robert) and Joanne Sliker (Scott), her son Neal Sliker, (Jane), grandchildren Karl, Lauren, Rachel, Levin, and Colin, and three great-grandchildren, Deckard, Evelyn, and Elcie, who was born the day Doris died.
In lieu of flowers, the family suggests donations in her name to the Shelter Island Library, PO Box 2016, Shelter Island, NY 11964.
