Doris Virginia Hodges

Doris Virginia Hodges, 92, passed away in Milwaukie, OR on April 26, 2017. She was born August 13, 1924 in Browning, Montana to Albert and Emma Betcher. Doris was the third daughter of 10 children. At the age of 4, Doris went to live with her Aunt Clara and Uncle Grover Lund in Cut Bank, MT, as they were unable to have children of their own. Throughout the rest of her childhood, Doris spent the 9 month school year with Clara and “Pop”. In the summer, she would travel back across the Rocky Mountains to Kalispell, MT and be with her large and active birth family. Doris felt very privileged to grow up being shared between these two loving families. On Pearl Harbor Day, in 1941, Doris met Kenneth Hodges. While Ken was in the Navy, Doris went to work at the court house in Helena, MT. On February 18th, 1944, Doris and Ken were married. After the war, they lived in Portland, OR and later bought a farm in Damascus, OR where they raised registered polled Hereford cattle. A few years after Ken's death in 1985, Doris sold the Damascus property and moved to Milwaukie, OR where she lived with her partner Neal Ewert for several years. Doris later moved to a retirement center, also in Milwaukie. Doris was preceded in death by her parents, Albert and Emma; her husband, Kenneth; sisters, Esther, Marvel, Carol and Betty; brothers, Lowell, Harvey, Ernie, Bob and Darrel; and her partner of later years, Neal Ewert. She is survived by her daughter, Karen (Joe) Pelz; son, Daniel (Jeanne) Hodges; grandchildren, Shannon Miller, Thomas (Martina) Akeson, Garland Akeson, Christi (Vincent) Pontier, Ryan Hodges (Wendy Mertl); and numerous great-grand children, great-great-grandchildren, nieces and nephews. Doris will be remembered for her great love of family and friends, her love of playing card games, and her infectious laughter. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to a veteran's charity of your choice, or to hospice. Doris has been laid to rest with her husband, Kenneth, in Willamette National Cemetery.