A lifetime as wife, mother and teacher ended Tuesday when Deretha "Dede" Schmittlein of Slippery Rock succumbed after a lengthy battle with lung cancer.

Known for her care and kindness to others, most notably her immediate family who adored her, Mrs. Schmittlein also will be remembered by her former students at Institute Hill in Butler and Slippery Rock Elementary, Portersville and Prospect included, as a teacher who tried to help every student. She was recognized as Butler Teacher of the Year in the 1980s when she was presented her Golden Apple in Butler.

July 23rd would have marked 50 years of marriage to Dr. Albert E. Schmittlein.

The family in mourning includes a son, Michael A., who resides in Devon, with wife Mary and sons Michael, 16, and Alex, 15; son, Marc E., lives and works in Avon, Conn., with wife Denise and daughter Alexis, 9, and sons Jack, 6, and Cole, 2, Deretha's twin daughters, Cynthia and Suzanne, who work and live in Wilmington, Del.

Born Aug. 2, 1931, in Knox, Pa., to Helen (Weaver) Exley and Harry F. Exley, Dede attended Keystone Public Schools and received her bachelor's degree from Clarion State University in 1951. Graduate study was completed at Penn State.

Harry Fred Exley Jr., her younger brother, and June Exley reside with their family in Belle Vernon; and other survivors include Dede's niece is Erin, recently of AmeriCorp; and nephews, Todd and his wife Megan from Frederick, Md., and Reid, a senior at Penn State.

Also the grieving will be all her PGA sons who knew her as "Mom," the coach's wife who always served luscious lasagna dinners following SRU golf championships, a celebration not infrequent in the 1980s.

SCHMITTLEIN - Family and friends of Deretha "Dede" Schmittlein, who died Tuesday, Feb. 8, 2005, will be received from 6 to 9 p.m. Friday at SMITH FUNERAL HOME, 421 New Castle St., Slippery Rock. A memorial service will be at 11 a.m. Saturday at Center Presbyterian Church, Franklin Street, Slippery Rock. The service will be led by the Rev. David McCabe, church pastor. Interment will follow in the Schmittlein plot at Ridgelawn Cemetery on Mt. Troy Road, Pittsburgh.Memorial contributions may be made to the American Lung Cancer Association, Wexford Office, Wexford Professional Building II, Suite 2104, Wexford, PA 15090; or Family House, 242 McKee Place, Pittsburgh, PA 15213.