In Memory of Dorothy J. Huppe

Dorothy “Ducky” Jean Sweeney Huppe passed away peacefully at home in Falls Church, Virginia, on Tuesday, October 14th, 2025 after a long battle with Alzheimer's. She was 92. Born and raised on a farm in Marshall, Missouri on January 13th,1933 to parents Harry and Clara Sweeney, Dorothy was the third in a lively family of fifteen siblings. She graduated from the University of Missouri with a bachelor’s degree in Interior Design, and later worked in advertising at Oscar Meyer, before going on to build a successful interior design business in Delaware: Designs by Dorothy. Dorothy was married for 37 years to Frank Huppe, with whom she raised three children John, Susan and Michael, in Wilmington, Delaware. A devoted mother and grandmother, she later moved to Northern Virginia to be closer to her children and grandchildren. Dorothy is survived by her three children John Huppe, Susan Huppe, and Michael Huppe, and her two beloved grandchildren Ellie Huppe and Ryan Huppe. She is also survived by her daughter-in-law Maria Huppe, as well as nine siblings: Raymond Sweeney, Pat Calvert, Margie Stober, Rita Bales, Bill Sweeney, Bob Sweeney, John Sweeney, Connie Wiard, and Annette Smith – and hundreds of other members of the Sweeney family. She was preceded in death by her two parents and five siblings: Rose Marie Lavelock, Betty Armentrout, Richard Sweeney, Gene Sweeney, and Dan Sweeney.