Cyrilla Anna Doerhoff, age 101, of St. Elizabeth, passed away in her sleep with her rosary in her hand on Thursday, February 6, 2025, at Primrose Retirement Community of Jefferson City.  She was born on the family farm along the Osage River near Mary's Home, on February 23, 1923, daughter of the late Charles and Josephine Katherine (Evers) Tellman.  On May 1, 1943, at Our Lady of the Snows Catholic Church at Mary's Home, Cyrilla was united in marriage to Leonard Joseph Doerhoff, who preceded her in death on June 17, 2006.

She is survived by three sons and two daughters: Alan R. Doerhoff, M.D. and wife Adelia M. Doerhoff, M.D., Dale C. Doerhoff, J.D., Carl R. Doerhoff, M.D. and wife Cynthia H. Doerhoff, Mary J. Doerhoff Winter, J.D. and husband Michael G. Winter, and Faye E. Doerhoff, M.D.; ten grandchildren, Roy Doerhoff (Rachel), M.D., Richard Doerhoff, D.D.S., Alison Doerhoff Drew (Zach), Heidi Doerhoff Vollet (Kevin), J.D., Erica Doerhoff (Jonathan Dworak), J.D., Stephen Doerhoff, J.D., Adam Doerhoff (Robbie), Danielle Doerhoff Hill (Harrison), J.D., Gabrielle O'Hagan (Greg), Caroline Doerhoff (Nathaniel Dell), twenty great-grandchildren; and a host of other family and friends.

She was preceded in death by her parents, Charles and Josephine Tellman; husband, Leonard J. Doerhoff, infant son, John Leonard Doerhoff, beloved daughter-in-law, Ruth Ann Doerhoff, two sisters, Fredonna Andres and Ermine Tellman, six brothers, Frank, Bill, Leonard, Harold, Ed and Joe Tellman, sister-in-law Cyrilla Heckemeyer, brothers-in-law Raymond, Emil, Norman, and Joseph Doerhoff, and all their respective spouses. She was the last of her generation on both sides.

After graduating from Eugene High School, Cyrilla attended the Central Missouri State Teachers College at Warrensburg (now University of Central Missouri) and taught school for two years, first at the rural Jim Henry School near Mary's Home and then as an elementary teacher for the 4th and 5th grades at the St. Elizabeth School. She served as the postal clerk and later postmaster in St. Elizabeth after Leonard retired.

Cyrilla was first and foremost a loving and caring wife, mother and homemaker who dedicated her life to her husband and to her children, placing their needs above her own. She was a hard worker and a great cook. She approached every situation with the same cheerfulness and good nature, bringing a little sunshine to even the most ordinary tasks. Friends were inspired by her contagious warmth and enthusiasm. In 1987 she was recognized as the Missouri Mother of the Year. After the children left home, rather than sitting in an empty nest, Cyrilla took classes in oil painting and created cherished hand-painted works of art as gifts to her children and grandchildren. She enjoyed fishing, games, puzzles of all kinds, mushroom hunting, gardening, and watching the hummingbirds that flocked to her multiple feeders. She was blessed with remarkable health and entertained guests at her 100th birthday party with vivid stories of her childhood and riding her horse Sally on the farm.

Cyrilla was a devoted member of St. Lawrence Catholic Church for over eighty years, a member of the choir, and was a lifetime member and a former president of the St. Ann's Sodality. She was an accomplished seamstress and a quilter for the community and for the family, with custom quilts for her children and grandchildren. Outside the home, Cyrilla served her community, church, state and nation as a volunteer and leader in many ways: founding board member of the St. Elizabeth Community Center; founding member and president of the American Legion Auxiliary Post 545, member and president of the Ladies Auxiliary – 4th Degree, Knights of Columbus St. Jude Assembly; Dame of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre, member and president of the local Women's Progressive Farmers Association (WPFA); member of the Miller County Board for the Developmentally Disabled; chair of volunteer services for the St. Elizabeth Care Center; donor and chair of the St. Elizabeth Red Cross Blood Drive; member of the Diocesan Pastoral Council and president of the Diocesan Council of Catholic Women for the Diocese of Jefferson City; teacher of weekly religious classes for the youth of the parish; chair of the local well baby clinic; chair of the Miller County March of Dimes.

Visitation will be held from 9 to 11 a.m., with Mass of Christian Burial immediately following at 11 a.m., on Saturday, February 15, at St. Lawrence Catholic Church in St. Elizabeth with Fr. Christopher Aubuchon officiating.  Interment will be held in St. Lawrence Cemetery in St. Elizabeth following the Mass. Thereafter, friends and family are invited to the traditional lunch at the Community Center and to share memories.

Memorial contributions are suggested to the St. Lawrence Cemetery Trust, P.O. Box 1, St. Elizabeth, MO 65075 or to the Food Bank of Central and Northeast Missouri, 1201 Vandiver Drive, Columbia, MO 65202 or online at sharefoodbringhope.org/donate/

Arrangements are under the direction of Fancher-Rekus Funeral Home in St. Elizabeth.