Loretta Mearns Setter

Loretta Mearns Setter, age 88, passed away at Stonegates Retirement Community on October 2, 2019.

Loretta (aka Mimi to her family) was born in Wilmington, Delaware and attended Wilmington Friends School from K thru 12^th grade.  Upon graduation, Loretta proudly received the John Marshall Mendinhall II Memorial Award which is awarded to the WFS senior considered to have done the most for Friends School. Loretta was always able to intertwine her community spirit with her intellect and creative curiosity.   In 1949, she headed to Colby College in Waterville, Maine to study Chemistry and was an active member of Chi Omega Sorority. Upon graduation she moved back to Wilmington and became certified by the American Society of Clinical Pathologists as a Medical Technologist and started her long career in this field. In 1969, she married Claude Setter and for the next 19 years worked for the DuPont Company at Chestnut Run in the Health Services Department.  In their free time, Loretta and Claude enjoyed spending time with their extended family and cousins and playing with their cats Buffy, Tuffy, and Sassy. Loretta was also an artist, having studied painting with William Schoonover.  The couple was also active parishioners at St. Joseph’s on the Brandywine.

Upon retirement, Loretta and Claude were anxious to get to warmer weather; in 1988 they moved to Rancho Bernardo in San Diego, California. Loretta loved Rancho Bernardo and became a very active community member, volunteering for several different organizations including the Cancer Society, the Joslyn Center/Ed Brown Senior Center and was on the Board of Directors for the Kiwanis Club. For the last few years Loretta has been back in Wilmington living with her loving sister, Alice Mearns Ivy. The enthusiastic sisters could be found running errands in Greenville, laughing, dancing and giggling along the way. Mimi was adored by her 5 nieces & nephews:  Lee Ivy (Cindy), Herb Ivy (Deb), Alice Barnett (Ted), Carroll Ivy (Doug), Jackie Ivy-Spatafora (Sally) and her 11 grandnieces & nephews and 1 great grandnephew.  Loretta was preceded in death by her parents, Herbert and Loretta Mearns.

The Ivy Family would like to send a special thank you to the entire staff at Stonegates Healthcare along with Maria and Sharon for their loving and warm care of Loretta during the last year of her life.

In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to the Alzheimer’s Association at www.alz.org