Dolores Seifert, 91; Had Quadruplets and 6 Other Children

Dolores Seifert, 91, the mother of quadruplets who were believed to be Minnesota’s first when they were born in 1950, died Sept. 29 in Sleepy Eye, Minn. The cause of death was not reported.

Seifert was 37 and already had six children -- including twins -- when she gave birth to the quads at Sleepy Eye Municipal Hospital on May 3, 1950. At the time, there were 11 sets of surviving quadruplets in the United States, none in Minnesota.

Martha, Marie, Monica and Michael -- all of whom are still living -- were born six weeks prematurely and weighed between 2 1/2 and 4 pounds each. They shared two incubators at the hospital until more could be brought in. They didn’t go home to the family farm until that July.

Fame, however, was instant for the quads and their parents. So were financial problems. The family spent more than their annual income for the $2,760 hospital bill and an additional $5,000 to remodel a porch for a nursery and install a furnace.

Seifert, who came from a family of 13, and her husband, Arthur, got financial help by endorsing milk products and baby food. They also got a free washer and dryer from an appliance company, valuable gifts in the days before disposable diapers.

Arthur Seifert died in 1988.

Of her mother, one of the quads, Martha, said: “She was a hard-working woman and dedicated to her family. I’m sure she had to do a lot more than most women, but she never complained about anything.”