Delores Pastorius

Delores “Dee” (nee Steichen) Pastorius, 87 of Bradenton, FL, passed peacefully on 02/22/2025 in her home as she had wished with her family by her side and the most beautiful sunset filled her home with an orange glow as she took her last breath in a blaze of glory.

She was born on 02/14/1938 in St Paul, MN where she attended St Agnes school and graduated from Washington High School. That is where she met the love of her life, Maynard. Dee worked fulltime and retired from Buckbee Mears Company in St Paul. She was a lifelong artist and an avid gardener. 

 Her dream was to retire early, move to Florida, and take art classes, which she did. She began taking classes at the Art Center of Long Boat Key. She was a member of the Florida Watercolor and Florida Suncoast Watercolor Societies, she was juried into many art shows at the Art Center Manatee and various other shows. She has won dozens of awards. She has art pieces in personal collections around the world. She was a member and displaying artist of Island Gallery West, with the Artist Guild of Anna Maria Island being her latest gallery.

She also enjoyed being a member of the Manatee Garden Club, she loved caring for her yard, she even had her beautiful yard on the garden tour one year. Her and Maynard also belonged to the Anna Maria Island Privateers. She loved hosting Goddess parties on the beach. She was creative in everything that she did and always found ways to keep things fun. Through all her activities she made many friends, one of her close art friends summed it up like this “She was always such a spunky, funny, interesting, creative, and talented woman.”

Dee is survived by her husband of 68 years, Maynard Pastorius; her daughter, Jody (Tom) Tschida; son, Todd (Dee-dee) Pastorius; and her daughter-in-law, Kathy Pastorius. She is preceded in death by sons, Mark Pastorius and Roque Pastorius, who passed away just a few weeks before his mother as he was visiting to help care for her at the end of her life.

Dee is survived by her siblings, Phyllis Byerly, Tom Steichen, and Bill Steichen; grandchildren, Angel (Jeff) Colonna, Krystle LeTourneau, Cassandra (Andrew) Johnson, Nick Pastorius, Blake Hatlestad, Stephanie Pastorius, Michelle (Shaun) Lapinski, and Rocky Tschida; many great and great-great grandchildren; many nieces and nephews; also her parrot, Big Red.

She is preceded in death by her parents, Peter and Ethel Steichen; brothers, Peter Steichen, Robert Steichen, Jim Steichen; and sister, Ethel Thomason.

A celebration of life will be held in honor of Dee at The Manatee Garden Club, 3120 1st Ave W, Bradenton Fl 34205, on Sunday, March 23rd, 1:00 to 4:00 p.m.

There will be a second Celebration of Life/Memorial service for Dee in Minnesota at Mueller-Bies Funeral Home-Roseville, 2130 N. Dale St. @ County Road B on Thursday, June 12th, from 4:00 to 8:00 p.m. with a Prayer and time of sharing beginning at 4:30 p.m.

 We want to give a special thank you to Moffitt Cancer Center for the exceptional quality of care allowing her extra time with her friends and family.

And thank you to Tidewell Hospice helping us to care for her allowing her to transition in the comfort of her own home stress free.

In lieu of flowers, memorials are preferred.