Doris Ruth Powlison

Doris Ruth Waggoner was born on August 20, 1922 in Youngstown, Ohio. She was the 5th of 9 children (two of whom died in infancy) and the only one born in the United States. Her parents, Harry and Helen Waggoner, were full-time missionaries in India and had come back to the states for some much-needed rest when Doris made her arrival.

In February of 1923, the Waggoner family returned to India, where Doris lived for the first 14 years of her life. Her father built homes for lepers and spent his days caring for those living at the homes.

Later in life, she often reminisced about the treasured memories she had of her years there. She enjoyed her pet parrot, the Indian Bazaars, games, kite flying, fishing, and sports. Doris was athletic and for awhile was training to be a hurdler in the Olympics.

In November of 1936, Doris and one of her sisters were sent to the U.S. to attend a school for missionary children, called the Westervelt Home. She graduated from high school there at age 16 and from the school’s Bible College in May of 1942.

During her years at the Westervelt School, she met her husband, Howard. They did not know each other well until they were both asked to be chaperones for a double date. From there, a friendship grew and on September 5, 1942, the two were married.

They started their family in Kenmore, New York, where their first child was born. Howard started training to be a missionary but unique circumstances would alter their course, leading him to become an ordained minister instead.

One of the biggest trials Doris faced came in 1952, when she contracted tuberculosis and was quarantined from the family at the hospital for several months. She was a mother of six children at the time, and her only contact with them were the waves they sent each other from her hospital patio. After much prayer, she was miraculously healed and happily reunited with the family, suffering no ill effects.

As their family continued to grow, they decided to head out to southern California for better employment opportunities and to be closer to Howard’s mom.

In 1964, Doris gave birth to their 13th child– and their family was complete with 11 sons and 2 daughters. They then brought their large family up to Molalla, Oregon and in 1976 settled in Portland. In addition to raising 13 children, they also served as foster parents.

Despite the challenges of raising a large family, Doris was not a complainer. She is remembered as having a fun and feisty spirit, someone who loved to laugh and listen to the kids and Howard tell jokes. She had an infectious chuckle, when something touched her funny bone, which would often start everyone laughing.

When life’s challenges were too much and she could no longer laugh, she would go to her knees in prayer. Her heart was compassionate for others in need. Seeds of loving and serving others, planted in India, produced much fruit in her large family. A warm hug from Doris dried many tears over her lifetime of motherhood.

She had an unwavering faith in Christ and had a passionate desire to share that faith with her children. Each night, the family sang and had devotions together. She loved teaching both her children, grandchildren, and foster children stories from the Bible.

Doris and Howard were married for 69 years when he preceded her in Glory in 2011 at age 92. Surviving her are over 100 descendants, including 11 children, numerous grandchildren, great grandchildren and a few great-greats. One daughter, son, granddaughter, and a great grandson preceded her in death but the family is excited that Doris and Howard are together once again and that someday, we too, will all be reunited.