Doris Mabel Snell of Boise, a former Baker County resident, died July 7, 2003, two days before her 89th birthday, at her home where she had lived for more than 50 years.
A celebration of Doris’s life was at 1 p.m. Friday at the Alden-Waggoner Funeral Chapel in Boise. Pastor Eric Brown of the Cloverdale Seventh-day Adventist Church officiated. Interment was at Cloverdale Cemetery, where she was laid to rest next to her husband, Loyal.
Doris was born to Joseph and Ida Bowman on July 9, 1914, at their homestead at Wolf Creek. Although born healthy, digestive difficulty made it impossible for her to gain weight. At six months of age, Doris weighed just six pounds. Her father cried when he finally found a formula that would agree with her.
After a rough start, Doris grew into a freckle-faced bundle of energy who loved tormenting her older sister by jumping off the roof of the house just to hear her scream. Doris attended school at North Powder, Baker City and Weiser, Idaho. Her school years were the beginning of many lifetime friendships.
In 1940, Doris married a brown-eyed, handsome man named Loyal Snell. They had two children, Sharon and Jerry. Loyal and Doris were married for 63 years until Loyal died on Nov. 15, 1996.
In 1960, Doris completed her licensed practical nurses training and worked for St. Alphonsus Hospital at Boise until she retired in 1979. Doris never missed a single day of work and as a reward, the Sisters of the Holy Cross surprised Doris and her husband with a free trip to Disneyland. After her retirement, Doris remained an active member of the L.P.N. Association of Idaho.
In 2001, after suffering a stroke, Doris was brought home with hospice care but surprised everyone, especially the hospice workers, with her determination to recover. She improved to the extent of getting around with the help of a walker.
Doris loved to cook, preparing weeks in advance for guests and holidays. She enjoyed gardening and reading. Doris adored her grandchildren and great-granddaughter. There were many camping and fishing trips in the camper she named “Roada.” Life at Grandma’s house was full of adventure. Her sense of humor and lust for life as well as her youthful complexion were with her always. Doris never grew old.
“We will miss our mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, relative and friend very much, but there is comfort in knowing that she is with those she loves and doesn’t need her walker anymore,” her family said.
Doris was preceded in death by her husband, Loyal Snell; sisters, Iris Gebo and Claire Moore; and her grandson, Matthew Snell.
Survivors include her two children, Sharon Jarrett of Boise and Jerry Snell of Clarkston, Wash.; four grandchildren, Amber Jarrett of Salt Lake City, Crystal Jarrett of Las Vegas, Nev., Brandon Snell of Dayton, Ohio, and Aaron Snell of Spokane, Wash.; one great-granddaughter, Morgan Smith-Snell of Dayton, Ohio; and many friends.
Used with permission from: Baker City Herald, Baker City, Oregon, July 11, 2003
Transcribed by: Belva Ticknor