Eulogy for Loretta Doll

April 18, 2018

by Rev. John Partridge

 

In 1915 the world was different than the one in which we now live.  In December of that year, Frank Sinatra was born, President Woodrow Wilson married Edith Galt in Washington D.C., WWI raged in Europe, heavier than air aircraft were still largely experimental, Ernest Shackleton’s team attempting to cross Antarctica overland was stranded as their ship, the Endurance, was crushed by the ice and sank, and into that world, Loretta Wynn was born in Canton, Ohio on December 3^rd, 1915.

Loretta lived with her parents, John and Loretta, and eventually attended, and graduated from McKinley High School in 1934, and then met and married Glen Doll on May 27^th, 1939. Before too long, Glen and Loretta welcomed Sally and Ted to their family as well and, in 1950 they moved from Canton to what was then a very rural Perry Township.  By 1955 they had joined Trinity Methodist Episcopal Church which would, in 1968, become the Trinity United Methodist Church.

Although they did a little camping and traveling in the early years, Loretta and Glen both liked staying at home and working the land, planting a garden, growing things, and then canning their produce.  They liked to design the landscaping for the two homes that Glen had built, and then, periodically, or perhaps continually, redesigning and reworking it to suit their tastes and their sense of style.  Maybe it was this sense of style that led Loretta into other adventures as well.  She was a seamstress who made clothes for her children, made bracelets, handbags, and purses, she tried her hand at floral arranging for a while, and everyone knew that she never wanted to throw anything away.

Loretta loved to shop too.  She especially loved to get in on a good deal.  She would go to every sale at Kaufman’s and all the craft stores, and the mall, sometimes twice a day to take full advantage of them.  Glen didn’t get mad, and in fact, even though he didn’t really share her passion for shopping, he went along on all of these trips, and usually just found a chair somewhere so he could sit and watch Loretta shop.  For a while, Loretta even worked at J.C. Penny.  Maybe it was to earn a little extra money, but maybe it was because the employees got a discount.  Loretta even had more than one bank account.  Not because she needed more than one, and not because she was afraid that the bank might fail, but because, once upon a time, you could get really nice gifts for opening a new account, so she would open accounts at different banks just to get the gifts.

At church, Loretta was known for her many hats.  Everyone at church knew that she and her friend Lila Graham would always be, faithfully, wearing a nice hat every Sunday.  And, I suspect, it eventually became something of a good-natured competition.  When it came time to clean out Loretta’s house there were over 100 hats, and while I don’t have a specific number, Lila’s family had an experience that was very similar.  In fact, at Lila’s funeral, they were still giving away hats to anyone that wanted one.

At home, even though she was a bit of a worrier, Loretta was always known as a good cook who was kind, gracious, caring, and could be counted on for offering good advice.  She liked to keep busy even when she had to live in an assisted living facility and later a nursing home.  If there was an activity offered, she was there.  If there was a craft to be made, you can be sure that Loretta was making one.  She did everything.

But through it all, Loretta always loved her family and they loved her back.  For so many years everyone had come to her house for the holidays, and then when she didn’t have a house any longer, she could be counted on to show up at Ted and Nancy’s house.  It finally reached a point where even if Loretta thought that she might skip a Thanksgiving dinner and stay “home” at the Windsor Medical Center, her grandchildren wouldn’t hear of it and insisted that she come.  They would send their dad, or they would go themselves, and maneuver Loretta into someone’s car, and help her out again so that she could spend Thanksgiving Day with her family as she always had.

Our world is very different than the one that Loretta was born into 102 years ago.  Our world is too fast paced, has often seemed to lose its respect for God, and is always focused on making more money, or acquiring more stuff.  But people like Loretta Doll, and the lives that they lived, remind us that there are more important things in life.  They remind us that it’s good to slow down and watch things grow.  It’s good to take time for your family, your friends, your church, and your God.  When the day comes that people gather in a room like this one to remember each one of us, do you think that they will remember that we worked a lot, or that we had a lot of money, or accumulated a lot of stuff, or do we want to be remembered as people who were kind, faithful, loving, generous, caring, and compassionate?

Loretta had her priorities in the right places and her life reminds us that we should do the same.

Although everyone here has good reason to mourn for what they have lost today, I hope that you will remember just how richly blessed you are to have had such a loving, godly, caring woman to show you all how life should be done.   Through Loretta Doll, God has given us all a great gift that has, and should continue, to shape us and bless us throughout our lives.

I pray that we might do half as well.

 

 

 

Obituary

Loretta Wynn Doll of North Canton, Ohio

December 3, 1915 – May 30, 2018

 

Loretta Wynn Doll, age 102, of North Canton passed away Wednesday, May 30, 2018, at Windsor Medical Center. She was born December 3, 1915, in Canton where she resided until 1950 when her family moved to Perry Heights. In 1955 Loretta and family became members of Trinity United Methodist Church of Perry Heights. There she served on the Board of Trustees as Secretary, several committees, and volunteered for many years as a teacher for children in Sunday school and Vacation Bible School. Following graduation from McKinley High School in 1934, Loretta and Glenn Doll were married in Canton on May 27, 1939. She was a dedicated homemaker; however, she did work for the J.C. Penney Company part time as a saleslady from 1969-1972. Known by family and friends as Sis and Aunt Sissy, Loretta was loved by all. She was proud of all members of the family and was eternally optimistic that each would have a successful future.

She was preceded in death by her parents, John and Loretta Wynn, her husband Glenn F. Doll, her daughter Sally A. Doll, two brothers Herbert J. Wynn and Dr. John D. Wynn and a sister Dorothy Wynn Ake. She is survived by her son T. Everett (Nancy) Doll, two granddaughters Audrea (Dr. Robert) Schweikert and Jennifer (Jeffrey) Reider, seven great-grandchildren, five nieces and three nephews.

Private services and interment have been arranged through Arnold Funeral Home officiated by Pastor John Partridge, Trinity United Methodist Church. Memorial contributions in Loretta’s name can be made to Trinity United Methodist Church, 3757 Lincoln Way East, Massillon, OH  44646. The family thanks Dr. Steven Weaver of North Canton Medical Clinic and the staff of Windsor Medical Center and Crossroads Hospice for their compassionate and skilled care graciously provided to Loretta and her family.