Doris Ellen (Slingerland) Tutko

Doris E. (Slingerland) Tutko, 82, of Colorado Springs, Colorado passed away peacefully in her home on August 10, 2022 from the late stages of abdominal cancer. She was born to parents Lewis and Velma Slingerland in Yonkers, New York on November 2, 1932. She is preceded in death by her daughter-in-law, Lynn Santillano Tutko; sister, Ellen S. Chickering; and her brother, Richard Slingerland. She is survived by her husband, Donald Tutko; her brother, Donald Slingerland; and sons, Peter (Charlene), John (Kathy), Richard (Julianne), and Daniel (Annie).
After growing up in Yonkers, NY, Doris attended Syracuse University for one year. She then transferred to the Katharine Gibbs Secretarial School, graduating in 1959. Shortly afterwards, she married Don, and they started a family together.
Doris was a devoted mother, caring for her sons throughout their childhood as they moved across the country to support Don’s railroad career. Doris had a passion for singing, crafting, birdwatching, and gardening. While living in Florida, Doris became a master gardener, dotting the lawns of that house and her subsequent homes with beautiful landscaping.
As Doris became a grandmother, her compassionate heart, quick wit, and delicious cooking solidified her as the steadfast matriarch of the Tutko family. Her grandchildren, Sam, Ben, Laura, Kylie, Jack, and Emma, and her great-grandson, Grant, will remember Doris, “Gramma Sugar,” as a force of kindness, generosity, and cleverness.
A Celebration of Life will be held at a later date. Expressions of sympathy can be made through donations to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.
 

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