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I was privileged to be born into the same paternal family as Doris. I was only 18 months old when she was born so I guess I should say I never knew life without her. When Doris was born, her parents and Le Ann still lived in Crawford County but they soon moved to Fort Valley so Doris’s father could look after part of the family business. As children, we visited and played together often, but I remember it seemed like forever between the times we were together while in reality it was only a week or so. Growing up, our families had the standard ranch style houses that were built in the 60’s and 70’s. They had long halls with bedrooms, baths, and closet doors off the hall. A favorite game of ours was to close all the doors in the hall, turn out the lights, take all the marbles out of the Chinese checker game and scatter them up and down the hall. The object was to see who could recover the most of the marbles the fastest. May seem kind of boring in today’s world of computer games and such, but Doris was always fun and a good sport at creating games from whatever was at hand. This was a trait that I saw her use often as a mother in entertaining and playing with her own children. As we were growing up, we had many family picnics, fish frys, and dinner gathering, and I remember watching and waiting for Doris and Le Ann to arrive so I would have someone to play with. For several years there would be a fish fry at Uncle Bill’s during the late spring. The fish would come from one of our ponds. Our uncle and aunt had a steep grass hill behind their house. One of the games we invented was to lie in the grass at the top of the hill and roll to the bottom of the hill into the back yard area. Doris was so light and agile; she would get started at the top and just keep rolling even after she got to the bottom. The only problem with this game was we would all be covered in chigger bites for the next week. and have to paint them with fingernail polish. We were blessed to have a Christian family. At a very early age, Doris was saved and committed her life to Christ. I remember my father telling us what an important decision she had made, and I know she was sure of her conviction. She was way ahead of the rest of our generation in this area. Regarding Doris’s acrobatics, I think she spent more time standing on her head than her feet from age seven to ten. After starting to school, Doris’s artistic talent became apparent and began to grow. From a very early age, she loved taking art lessons from a local artist. In the summers, we would usually go swimming, but I remember having to wait until she had finished her art lesson. I did not see the fun in such a tedious task. Little did I know that this would be one of her many callings in life. One of my fondest childhood memories is of going to the fair every fall when it came to Macon. One year my parents would take me along with my cousins Le Ann and Doris, and the next year their parents would take the three of us. We always went through the livestock barns and drank the milk the dairy companies gave away. Then, we would have to view each county 4-H exhibits. Next, was the grandstand show at the stadium. I sometimes wondered if Doris was going to join the circus and be an acrobat. All the time, we could not wait to get to the midway and ride the rides. I think one of Doris’s favorites was the glass house. She was so skinny, and the house had mirrors that made her look even skinner. When I was in the sixth grade, I transferred to the school that Doris attended. One of the most exciting advantages to this transfer was that I had the opportunity to go to school with Doris. As we progressed through the high school we both became involved in athletics which allowed us to spend a great amount of our after school time together traveling to games, practices, and so forth. Again, her acrobatic talent made her one of the most flexible cheerleaders. She was so good at doing the splits and pyramids during the breaks in the game. I remember one night she was injured during one of those exercises. She did not seem to let on that she was in much pain, and kept trying to walk off the injury. Turned out she ended up with a broken bone and could not put any weight on it for six weeks. Can you image living with a homebound teenager for this length of time? She never complained or regretted the experience. Even though she was so sweet and gentle, she was tough when she needed to be. After high school, Doris chose Middle Georgia College to continue her education. This was her first opportunity to live her life outside on her own. She wasn’t known as “Wilbur and Beth’s daughter” or as “Le Ann’s little sister.” She was Doris. She was fortunate to meet and develop friendships with a core group that had much of the same values as she. Her cheerleading turned into bat girl duties for the well known baseball program at MGC. She had fond memories of MGC and referred to her MGC friends and experiences often as the years went by. This school was a perfect fit for her as she spread her wings and begin to fly. After completing her core education at Middle Georgia College, she transferred to the University of Georgia to study interior design. Our family marveled at little Doris going to the big university that her mother had attended years before. In fact, I think Doris would have loved to stay at Middle Georgia for her complete education, but at the time, it was just a two-year school. So, to Athens she went. It was there that she learned much about her first career choice of interior decorating. She chose to study interior design since it would blend her art talent with her love for color. It was at UGA that she met Jon and was introduced to yet another sport. The story goes that Doris and her roommates were running short on supplies during a winter snowstorm in Athens. Jon and his roommates lived in the same apartment complex and were also short on certain items. Best I recall, toilet paper was traded for grits, and that sealed her fate to become a resident of South Georgia one day. Upon graduation from UGA, Doris sought a job in Atlanta to practice her trade. At the time, I lived in Atlanta and wanted to help get her to the Big City so she obtained several interviews. The plan was she would come to my apartment and we would go and find the place of her interview the next day. Directions were not one of Doris’s strong points. She called me and told me she was having problems finding my apartment and my obvious question was “where are you now?” She informed me that she was at the Waffle House. Do you know how many Waffle Houses there are in metro Atlanta! After some additional landmarks were noted, I was able to direct her to the correct route. She did secure a job with a high end cabinet company and begin work as a designer of cabinets for this custom manufacturing company. I remember the Christmas that we shared an apartment together, we went to a craft store and each bought a ceramic ornament to paint. I should have known that I was way out of my league here, but it sounded like fun. I selected a snowman and she a teddy bear. We got home and started on the project. I slapped a little paint here and there, and it looked like a four-year-old had painted the snowman. Doris was slowly working on her teddy bear. After 30 minutes or so she showed me her finished product. It looked like something you would buy at a fine gift shop. I asked “How come your ornament looks so good and mine looks like a four -year-old painted it?” I don’t remember her exact response, but I do know in another 30 minutes my snowman looked presentable for our Christmas tree. I still have both of these ornaments, and each year when I unwrap them I think of the fun times we had while sharing an apartment in Atlanta. I never knew that an ornament that cost less than a dollar would be so valuable to me today. Once Jon left Athens, Doris moved home to work with a family friend who had her own interior design business and to pursue a teaching certificate. This shop was Doris’s element. She spent much time going through wallpaper books and paint splotches matching colors and fabrics. Her favorite color was purple, so much of her selections were purple or coordinated well with purple. Recently, I was selecting paint for an addition to my new home and chose a bright blue with a hint of purple. This room is rather large and with only the paint on the wall, my stepdaughter said it reminded her of Ariel under the sea. I thought, “What am I going to do with this color? Doris could make this work, but I don’t know of any color that will tone down this room.” In the end, I was able to use three colors on the floor to tone down the bright color, but I think of Doris each time I go into that bright room. She would have loved it. When Doris finished her teaching degree, she accepted Jon’s marriage proposal. After the wedding she moved to Douglas and began teaching elementary school. She made many friends in the town, especially through her involvement at the First Baptist Church. As Doris and Jon started a family, she continued to teach, but her heart’s desire was to be a full-time mother. She was given this opportunity, and she used all her talents, education, and experiences to teach her children and to provide for her family inside the home. She decorated their house with favorite colors of family members. Throughout both houses, she added cute personal touches by painting directly on the walls as if they were a canvas. She taught her children many lessons from Bible verses, to decorating, to separating the chocolate candy from the hard candy at Halloween. She shared with them many of the stories of her youth. On one of the last visits she made to Roberta, she let them walk from one uncle and aunt’s house to another on the back road just like we used to do as children. She told them her memories of it being a long way between the two houses, but she commented to me how short it really was now that she was grown. As a child I thought the time between our visits and activities were long, but they are nothing compared to the time that has lapsed since I have been able to see or talk with her now. However, this short time here on earth is nothing compared to the time we will get to spend with her when we get to heaven. The cycle of life continues. . . Miss and love you deeply,
Deana Sisters are forever friends.
Le Ann I can tell you what I
remember the most about Doris.... she was just flat out fun! She
was not quite old enough to babysit for me, but not so old that she
didn't acknowledge me! We grew up a street apart and she always
spoke to me... Doris and I were roommates at Middle Georgia College and at the University of Georgia. But she was more than just a roommate; she was one of the best friends I've ever had. When you live with someone, you get to know many different sides to that person. I could not think of one negative thing to say about Doris if I tried. We shared many good times at MGC from being batgirls to Airband contests to those hamburgers at Scott's BBQ. One Sunday Coach Sapp arranged for all the baseball players and batgirls to be recognized at church. Doris and I got up that morning, threw on our sweats, and headed to Hardee's for a biscuit. As we pulled up to place our order, we noticed several other batgirls getting into their cars. They had on their dresses already. We realized the time changed, and we forgot to set our clocks! We had 20 minutes to be at the church! You have never seen two girls get ready so fast! Doris and I walked into the church, late and embarrassed, and saw that the whole team was seated on the first three rows. We had to walk down the aisle in front of the whole congregation. Coach Sapp rolled his eyes and laughed when he spotted us. We didn't laugh then, but we've laughed about it many times over the years. At UGA, Doris and I roomed with another friend named Stacey. We made many special memories there as well. One thing I'll never forget is "The Sled". This was the nickname that Jon gave to Doris' car. She had the biggest car that was two-tone brown. In spite of kidding her about it, we all loved the Sled. We could get 8 or 9 people in that monster! When anyone made a comment about it, Doris would smile and say, "Wilbur thinks it's safe." Do Do (pronounced Doe Doe) was always there for me in the good times and the bad. As we grew older and had our families, we didn't see each other a lot, but we still talked on the phone and shared pictures. We don't always realize how important someone is to us until they are gone. Doris set a good example of how a Christian should live. I know I will see her again one day , and I'll see that twinkle in her eyes again when she smiles because... Friends are friends forever if the Lord's the Lord of them........ Shelley ***** I first met Doris when Jon, my uncle, brought her home to meet his family. I was immediately enamored with her. I wanted to be everywhere she was and do everything she did. I’m sure I drove both her and Jon crazy following them around all the time, but hey I was only about 9 or 10 years old! To me Doris was the coolest girl in the world. I even remember her teaching me to braid my Barbie’s hair on one of her first visits. Then, once I had that down, she tried teaching me how to do fishbone braids, but that was a lost cause! One of my earliest memories of Doris is a beach trip we all took as a family before Jon and Doris got married. Somehow I got to ride with Doris the whole way to the beach. I remember riding along in her big ole’ town car and singing along to the radio. That car was huge! (and brown if I remember correctly!) When we got to the beach I immediately put my things in the same room as Doris. I don’t think I let her out of my sight the whole vacation. She never once made me feel like I was intruding. She played with my cousins and me in the sand, took us to the water slide, and took us to putt-putt. She made us all feel special. Of course we had many more trips to the beach she loved so much, but I will always remember that particular trip as the one I really got to know and love Doris. Another great memory I have is the ski trips we took together. The whole family would load up in the van and head to Colorado. Doris’s first ski trip with us was while she was planning her wedding. I can still see her sitting in the back of the van going over addresses for hours trying to make sure everyone got included on the guest list. Doris loved skiing, not so sure she liked the cold, but loved the skiing. And she was good at it! Doris and Jon’s wedding was a great time! Doris invited my cousins and me to be in the wedding. I had so much fun going to all the wedding showers and meeting all of her family and friends. After Jon and Doris got married, Doris started teaching in Douglas. At the time, Jon was on a pro golf tour, so he was often gone during the week at golf tournaments. I stayed with Doris in their new house because she didn’t like staying by herself. We sat up watching TV and grading papers, just talking about anything and everything. Even as I got older I could always talk to Doris about anything. As I grew up, I got to see Jon and Doris start their family. It was such a joy to see them with their kids. Doris was clearly meant to be a mother. She did everything with those kids. She was involved in their church activities and school activities. They always did things as a family and were so happy to spend time together. The last time I saw Doris was at her favorite place, the beach, over Labor Day weekend. She was chasing her youngest around the beach house trying to get him dressed for their family Christmas card picture that was being taken that day. She stopped briefly when I walked in the door and said, “Hey, Meghan!” and flashed that trademark warm and inviting smile. That is the way I will always remember Doris, smiling. I miss her every single day. Meghan
Doris and I went to the same high school together.
She was a cheerleader and defined the word. She was spirited, acrobatic,
and loved to cheer! Little did I know then that one day we would share
so many things in common. |
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