David Letterman's Mom, Dorothy Mengering, Dies At 95

David Letterman's mom, Dorothy Mengering, who became an unlikely "Late Night" star by injecting her son's show with her brand of the midwestern sugary sweetness he grew up with, died Tuesday at her home in Carmel, Indiana. She was 95.

"Dave's mom," as she became known to a generation of "Late Night with David Letterman" fans, made her mark on her son's show as a "special correspondent" for Olympic Games in Lillehammer, Norway; Nagano, Japan; and Utah. Her children announced her death in an obituary they wrote.

"As Dorothy breathed her last, a brilliant red cardinal landed on a branch outside her window, singing his song," her children wrote.

Mengering became a Thanksgiving holiday fixture on the show. She traditionally appeared from her Carmel kitchen for contests she held with David Letterman, during which he tried to guess the type of pies she had just baked. She occasionally appeared in the Ed Sullivan Theater in New York, where the Letterman show broadcast, deadpanning Top 10 Lists that often needled her son.

“After Lillehammer, I couldn’t believe how it all took off,” Mengering told The New York Times about her role on “Late Night” and taste of fame after releasing her cookbook, Home Cookin’ with Dave’s Mom, in 1996. “I think it’s about the idea of mom and of a family. People are eager for families to be like they used to be. Even though there are lots of working moms and single-parent families now, you can still be a family in spite of the size and form it takes.”

She is survived by her children Janice Letterman Millholland; David Letterman and his wife, Regina Lasko Letterman; and Gretchen Letterman and her husband, William Shelton; grandchildren Bryn Millholland Mooth and her husband, Rob Mooth; Bill Millholland; Annagrace Letterman Shelton; Liam Letterman Shelton and Harry Joseph Letterman; and her sister, Hazel Baughman.

A memorial service is planned at Second Presbyterian Church; details are pending

Michael Conroy/Associated Press