Doris B. Makas

Lewiston- After a long, happy life and a brief illness, Doris Bryant Makas died peacefully at the age of 101 on October 29 in the loving arms of her daughter, Elaine. Doris was born on June 5, 1910, in Everett, Massachusetts, to Mary Ann (MacKenzie) and Guy Bryant. When she was six months old, Doris moved with her mother and her brother to Provincetown, the small town at the tip of Cape Cod that Doris always considered to be “home.” She spent many happy days in the close-knit Provincetown community that included bustling fishing and tourist industries, a vibrant group of artists and writers (among them the painter Charles Hawthorne, and the playwright Eugene O’Neil), and the early Arctic explorer and family friend, Commander Donald MacMillan. After leading the Girls Basketball Team to a regional championship as its captain, Doris graduated from Provincetown High School in 1928 (as she fondly noted, in a class of 28 students). Doris then moved to Boston, where she completed her business training at Bryant and Stratton College. She worked in a number of offices over the next 14 years, frequently returning to Provincetown to help her mother, who, by that time, had developed a very successful year-round hotel and diningroom. In 1941 Doris married Albert Makas, a physicist at the newly-founded Polaroid Corporation. They had two children, Bruce and Elaine, and moved to Medford, Massachusetts, where Doris continued to reside until coming to Lewiston in 1995 to live with her daughter. Although Doris returned to work as an accountant once her children had left for college, she always considered her family to be her most important job, a career at which she clearly excelled. Doris remained active throughout her life. She traveled extensively, including trips to the British Isles, Scandinavia, Belgium, and many locations in Canada, the U.S., and the Caribbean. Most of all, though, Doris loved visiting with her son and his family and with her daughter. She also thoroughly enjoyed her life in Lewiston-Auburn, attending any and all arts events and performances, many political functions, and, with very few exceptions, every home game that the Lewiston Maineiacs played during their eight-year history. Doris leaves behind her daughter Elaine of Lewiston, her daughter-in-law Rita of Arizona, her grandson Brian and his wife Kathy of New Jersey, her Calvary United Methodist Church family, and many other people whom Doris loved and who loved her. She was predeceased by her mother, her brother Duncan, her husband Albert, her son Bruce, and her unrelated, but much-loved “other daughter” Carol. Condolences and fond memories may be shared with Doris’ family by visiting her guestbook at www.thefortingroupauburn.com. Those wishing to make a donation in celebration of Doris’ life are asked to support “Calvary City Mission Meals” care of the Calvary United Methodist Church, 59 Sabattus St., Lewiston, ME 04240.