Doris is survived by her sister Jacquie Heyn (Fred) of Arlington, VA; daughter Claudia Lee Sewell (Kirk) of Springfield, IL; son Jeffrey Oran Haseltine (Gwynn) of Abilene, TX; son William Bryan Haseltine (Jadwiga) of Reston, VA; grandchildren Elizabeth Giger, Michael Sewell, Kelly Quinn, Daniel Sewell, Alexander Haseltine, Jessica Khachiyants, Sarah Becker, Melanie Haseltine, and Claire Haseltine; and by 10 great-grandchildren. She was preceded in death by her husband, Oran Lee Haseltine, and by a granddaughter-in-law, Kristina Sewell.
Doris was born May 26, 1931, to Willard Stanton and Clara June Keith, in La Habra, California. When Doris was only five years old, her mother passed away. She then was raised by her grandparents in La Habra, Noah and Dartha Counts. Doris always called her grandmother “Gram,” and she herself was “Gram” to all of her own grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
At age eighteen, Doris graduated from Fullerton High School. The very next day, she was married to Oran Lee Haseltine, also of La Habra. Over their first nine years together, they lived throughout California—Berkley, San Luis Obispo, Goleta, Buena Park, and Garden Grove. Their three children were born in southern California during this time. In 1958, they followed Oran’s oil and gas career to Farmington, New Mexico, and then to Dallas in 1960, where they raised their family on Vallejo Drive in the Pleasant Grove area and continued living until Oran’s death in 2013. Immediately after his death, Doris moved to Springfield, Illinois, to be near her daughter and many other family members in the region. There she quickly began a second life on her own, becoming an active member of West Side Christian Church (she was a life-long member of Churches of Christ/Christian Churches).
As a parent, grandparent, great-grandparent, and friend, Doris was known for her generous hospitality and outgoing nature. She found great joy in cooking for others—peach cobblers, cookies, buttermilk biscuits, chocolate-chip cupcakes, and a huge variety of other family favorites. She and Oran harvested and preserved fruits and vegetables from their hobby farm south of Dallas, and the occasional discovery of a forgotten jar of plum jelly, or a buried bag of frozen blackberries, was cause for celebration.
Doris had a creative spirit: making dolls, sewing doll clothes, and painting portraits of loved ones were just a few of her artistic hobbies. She was a long-time Bible school teacher (Grade 5 was her favorite), and she funneled much of her creativity into her lesson preparation. Her grandchildren have commented recently about how much they learned from “Gram.” She was an avid reader, and family visitors in Dallas loved discovering new books in Oran and Doris’s expansive and varied home library.
Her many recent friends, as well as family members, know how much Doris loved to play games: Penny-Up, Dominoes, Tutto, Upwords, or something else from her ever-growing collection. Her home in Springfield was the site of many church group gatherings, usually involving games and always involving food.
Though she was advanced in age, her passing was unexpected and will leave a void among those who loved her for her hospitality, warmth, energy and friendship.
Services are under the direction of Bisch Funeral Home West, 2931 S. Koke Mill Rd., Springfield, where visitation will be held on Thursday, June 21, 2018 from 5 to 7 pm. Funeral services will be held at the funeral home on Friday, June 22, 2018 at 11 am, with Cindy Lash officiating.
Memorials may be made to Campus Outreach, 8607 State Route 91, Peoria, IL 61615.
