Dolores Hackenberger, 94, passed away at the home of her daughter on December 9th, 2024. She was the daughter of the late Willis Shertzer and Miriam Rhinehart. She was married to Richard Hackenberger, who deceased in 1988. Dolores was a member of the First Presbyterian Church of Lancaster and a graduate of Manheim Township.

Lovingly referred to as the Grandma Moses of PA Dutch Country, her distinctive folk-art style depicts the Amish community, farms, covered bridges, mills, and historic landmarks. In addition, she painted more than two-hundred local homes and properties. Exhibitions of her work were featured in many galleries throughout the nation, including the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the Reading Public Museum, the Chicago National Art Show, Franklin and Marshall College, St. Francis City Gallery, and San Francisco.

Her paintings have been published in Colonial Homes , Better Homes & Gardens , and a variety of other national and local publications. UNICEF selected one of her winter scenes for their annual Christmas card. Prominent figures such as President George H.W. Bush, Congressman Robert Walker, singer Rod Stewart, and actor Paul Newman have owned her work. Collectors from nearly every state in the country have purchased her paintings, and her paintings have been sent to collectors in at least sixteen other countries.

Dolores got her start in painting in her early twenties, when she was a mother of two young boys. A cereal company was promoting a painting competition on the back of their box, and the winner would receive a pony or an electric car. Dolores pulled out her paints from high school, and only the black, white, and orange paints were usable. She painted a clown, named him Tangerine, and she won! While she didn't get her pony (the boys got their car), she never stopped painting for the next seventy years. She taught Sunday school at St. Matthew Lutheran Church for twelve years. She taught adult art classes at Conestoga Valley and Hempfield, and she provided many free classes for the Women's Club of Paradise.

Surviving are her four children Denise Archer, (the late James), Diane Weaver (Tom), Darrel Hackenberger ( Amy), and Dennis Hackenberger (Vanessa).She was the proud grandmother of Alecia Hackenberger, Amanda Iredale (Matt), Austin Hackenberger (Julie), Emily Olszewski (Brian), Olivia Dague (Dave), Brooke Pharr (James), Candice Romeo (Sal), Justin Calderon, Chad Brubaker (Lean), Matthew Brubaker, and fifteen Great-Grandchildren.

Funeral services will be private and at the convenience of her family. In an effort to document her career and the hundreds of works she created, the family is asking anyone who owns a painting to send a photo and comments to archerdogs.gmail.com .