It is with deep sorrow and much love that we mourn the passing of Dorris Irene Long, our loving and devoted mother, grandmother, and friend, of Fresno, California on September 6, 2022, at the age of 95 years.
She was born July 22, 1927 on a farm near Brookings, South Dakota to Mildred Emily Coon Hannon and Thomas Hannon. From the age of 6 to 13, she lived in the small town of Elkton, South Dakota. In 1941, her family moved to Oregon, settling in Salem. There, Dorris and her 3 siblings picked berries, hops, and beans to make money for school clothes. At just 13, she worked at her uncle and aunt’s restaurant, the Top Hat, washing dishes, then waiting tables, and even cooking. At 16, Dorris went to work for Montgomery Ward as a stock girl. Always ambitious, she was promoted first to elevator girl, next to head of Housewares Department, then bookkeeper for the store.
Dorris graduated from Salem High School in 1945. In late November, while bowling with her girlfriend, she met LeRoy “Buster” Long, a proud Marine officer returned home to Salem after 4 years of service during WWII in the Pacific Theater’s Guadalcanal campaign. Just 3 months later, on February 17, 1946, Dorris and Buster were married in the First Methodist Church in Salem. Their first of 4 sons, Gary, was born on December 18, 1946, followed by 3 more sons over the next 12 years – Danny in 1951, Tom in 1955, and Robert in 1959.
Dorris and Buster capitalized on the growing need for building materials in Oregon after WWII by hauling lumber and supplies from Seattle and selling to builders in the northwestern states. Dorris had learned to drive a car along the winding coast of California while on their honeymoon, and secured her chauffeur’s license soon thereafter. At 19, she regularly drove trucks for their burgeoning building materials business. In 1947, they opened C.G. Long & Sons with Buster’s father Chester Long, and his brother, Donald “Buddy” Long, in Salem, Oregon.
Dorris and Buster spent winters traveling to warmer destinations in the US and Mexico. They loved Hawaii, traveling there multiple times over the years with family. The very first visit was for their 13th wedding anniversary in 1959— enduring 10 hours on a 4-engine prop plane.
In October 1968, Dorris and family disembarked from the Oriana in Los Angeles after spending 6 weeks exploring Australia. While enroute to Oregon, they stopped in Fresno and never left – it was raining in Oregon, and Fresno’s warm autumn weather was too inviting to leave. Never ones to sit idly, Dorris and Buster opened Long’s Plywood and Roofing in January 1969 with their sons, near downtown Fresno on Tyler St. The family business boomed, and just one year later in 1970, they relocated into the new home of Long’s Building Supply – a 17,000 square foot building set on 10 acres of land on Clovis and Clinton Avenues, across from Fresno Air Terminal. A truly remarkable woman, Dorris was well-known and respected in the community. She counted former employees and customers among her numerous friends long after she retired and the business closed its doors in 1994.
Retirement did not slow Dorris down. She remained very active in Peoples Church, serving on the board of the Widows Group, as Head of Calling and Caring, the Treasurer of Sunday School Class, a Sunday Greeter, a member of the Boutique team, Shepherding Ministry, and Active Adults Group, and assisting Wednesday Night Service Dinner. Most notably, Dorris was a proud member of Dorcas Piecemakers, actively making quilts for underprivileged families until she passed away. She was also proud to be a member of the Daughters of the American Revolution.
Dorris traveled the world extensively, first with her family, and later with the Active Adults Group of Peoples Church. Most markedly were the family journeys across the continents of Asia and Europe. In 1960, Dorris, Buster, and eldest son Gary planned a trip to Taipei to visit family. In Taiwan, they purchased two pedicabs for $500 apiece, then shipped them to Oregon, where Dorris and her sons regularly exhibited them in many parades, winning numerous first place ribbons. Their Asian tour included stops in Hong Kong, the Philippines, and Japan. In Japan, dignitaries rolled out a red carpet to welcome the trio upon arrival – they had flown Japan Airlines’ maiden flight directly from Seattle to Tokyo. Dorris returned to Asia in 1985, where she scaled the heights of the Great Wall of China outside of Beijing.
In 1965, Dorris and Buster boarded the original Fairsea (which later sunk) with 4 sons in tow and sailed to Southampton, England where a new 9-passenger Volkswagen bus awaited them. Within 3 months, they traversed 17 countries and covered 7,000 miles, then returned home.
A favorite trip for Dorris was to County Cork, Ireland with Buster and granddaughter Lesa in 1985. She was extremely proud of her Irish heritage, and it was there that she hung upside down to kiss the fabled Blarney Stone. Years later, with her friends in the Active Adults Group, Dorris traveled to Egypt, Jerusalem, and throughout the US.
Dorris was predeceased by her loving husband of 43 years, LeRoy “Buster” Long in 1989; son Robert Long in 2009; granddaughter Tori Long Hendrix in 2016; siblings, Jean Cecil, Don Hannon, and Dick Hannon; and her parents, Thomas and Mildred Hannon. Dorris is survived by her 3 sons and their wives, Gary and Bebe Long of Fresno, California, Danny and Laura Long of Bend, Oregon, and Tom and Jeri Long of Eloy, Arizona; grandchildren, Lesa Awes, Christopher Long, Erik Long, Jonathan Long and wife Renae Long, Lacey Long-Vejar and husband Luca Vejar, Adam Long, Austin Hendrix and wife Steph Hendrix; 12 great-grandchildren; 3 great-great-grandchildren; and her many extended family members including numerous nephews, nieces, cousins, and friends, all of whom she loved, and who cherished her deeply.
A Celebration of Life to honor Dorris will be held on Thursday, September 29, 2022, at 11 am, at Peoples Church, GL Johnson Chapel, 7172 N. Cedar Ave., Fresno, with a luncheon reception immediately following in the Worship Arts Theater at Peoples Church. Interment will be held prior, at 9 am at Clovis Cemetery, 305 N. Villa Ave., Clovis. Family and friends are also invited to a visitation on Wednesday, September 28, from 4 to 7 pm, at Whitehurst Funeral Home, 836 E. Nees Ave., Fresno. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations can be made to Women’s Ministries at Peoples Church, 7172 N. Cedar Ave., Fresno, CA 93720, www.peopleschurch.org/women, or St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, 501 St. Jude Place, Memphis, TN 38105, www.stjude.org.
