Doris Exber

Doris Exber of Las Vegas died Tuesday, May 19. 2015 after a long battle with Alzheimers. Born August 30, 1928 in the Bronx, New York, she was the bouncing baby girl of James Gordon of Yugoslavia and Lucille Kwitchoff of New Jersey. Doris Gordon grew up with four brothers and sisters during the hardest economic time in U.S. history, The Great Depression. Those trying times led her to become independent and adventurous throughout her entire life. She left home at age 16 becoming a June Taylor Dancer, which was a great accomplishment for a girl who’s grandmother was a ballerina in the Russian ballet. Her show business career sent her to numerous cities such as Philadelphia, Miami, and others. If you were lucky you could coax her to tell stories of celebrities she spent time with. She didn’t mind telling the story about having breakfast with Howard Hughes and how they paid their own checks. Her career eventually led her to glamorous Las Vegas in the late 1940’s where she worked at the El Rancho Vegas Hotel. Although she worked with many big time celebrities (her favorite, Dean Martin), she fell in love and married future gaming pioneer Mel Exber. Doris and Mel settled down to become active members of the community they had come to love. Doris had many pursuits in her life. After her dance career she became an accomplished figure skater, avid equestrian, earned her pilots license, and spent many years snow skiing. Her greatest joy became spending her summers in San Diego. Enjoying the beach, the cooler days, and taking her dog Bugsy on long walks. “He’s more human than a lot of people.” She had an eclectic taste for art, purchasing pieces that were mostly humorous. She loved doing the New York Times crossword puzzle every week and playing her piano. In recent years, she took pride in becoming a very good bridge player. Throughout her life, she was always a spiritual person. In fact, throughout her house, you can find numerous books relating to spiritual guidance. The Bible, a book of Zen sayings, but her most prized possession was a little blue covered book written by her mother consisting of hand-written poems dating from 1939 through 1965. Doris is survived by her son Brady, daughter Laurie. Her two granddaughters Samantha and Jordan, and her great-grandson Asher.