La Grande, Oregon
Thelma Doris Driskell, 91, of La Grande, died Jan. 11 at St. Alphonsus Hospital in Boise. A celebration of life begins at 1 p.m. Saturday at Loveland Funeral Chapel and Crematory, 1508 Fourth St., La Grande.
Visitation will be allowed for family and friends for one hour prior to the services. Graveside services will follow at Grandview Cemetery. A reception will he held in the hall of the United Methodist Church, 1612 Fourth St., after the graveside service.
Doris was born March 15, 1916, to Leslie Duncan and Christine Weatley in Parma, Idaho. She was the oldest daughter. When Doris was 2, the family moved to La Grande where she spent the rest of her years. She graduated from La Grande High School in 1934.
Having lived in La Grande for almost 90 years, Doris enjoyed Eastern Oregon and loved going on camping trips in the surrounding area with her family and friends. One of her greatest pleasures was picking huckleberries and making huckleberry dumplings.
With her husband she had been an active member in the Good Sams. They gave up the camping trailer life only when they could no longer handle the rigors of getting the trailer to the campsite. She continued to get out into the area with the support of her son, Jim, and his wife, Connie. She also enjoyed day road trips to revisit many of her favorite local spots whenever her son Kenny and his family would visit from upstate New York.
Doris was a member of the United Methodist Church. She supported the church and attended services often. She had been an active member of Eastern Star and the Royal Neighbors of America. She enjoyed playing board games and card games and always wanted to enjoy a good game after holiday dinners. She was a member of a local bridge club and a member of a birthday club – celebrating her friends’ birthdays each month at a local restaurant.
She loved to work in her garden and flower beds and continued with help to grow vegetables and flowers. She loved to sew, crochet, to bake and make Christmas candy. In a recent thank you note, one of her sisters wrote how good her divinity was this year. She especially enjoyed her great-grandkids stopping by so that she could watch them play and play with them.
Doris married George William “Bill” Driskell Aug. 1, 1940, and spent the rest of her life with him as a homemaker. He preceded her in death in March 2002 after almost 62 years together.
Surviving family members include her sons, James Driskell and his wife, Connie, of La Grande, Kenneth Driskell and his wife, Jean, of Chadwicks, N.Y.; two younger sisters, Fern Mammon of Salinas, Calif., and Janis Shinn of Goleta, Calif.; and 11 grandchildren and six great-grandchildren living in La Grande, other parts of Oregon, Nevada, and as far away as Boston, upstate New York, Virginia, North Carolina and Texas.
She was preceded in death by her son, Jerry, in 1993.
Instead of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the Shriners Hospital in care of Loveland Funeral Chapel by calling 963-5022.
La Grande Observer – Obituaries For The Week Ending January 19, 2008 – Published Jan. 15, 2008