Doris Elizabeth Bhalla

Doris Elizabeth Bhalla was born on November 12th, 1940 in Washington DC. She was the youngest of 3 children born to her mother, Nellie May Hitaffer and her father, Charles Hitaffer who passed away during Doris’ childhood.

Charles Hitaffer Jr. was her eldest sibling and Lucie May Hitaffer was the middle sibling who was 8 years older than Doris. Doris grew up in the Adam’s Morgan area of Washington DC which coincidentally would be the police beat for her future youngest son Raj Kumar Bhalla.

As a teenager Doris started working at the DC Marriott as a waitress where she would continue for more than a decade. During this season of her life she had regular clients that became her favored patrons and likewise, she there favored server. Regularly she served meals to a man who wrote speeches for the government. He became known to the family as Uncle Jim.

Doris married Romero Bonilla in 1958 which resulted in the birth of Debra May Bonilla in 1958, followed by Joseph Romero Bonilla in 1959. They resided in Washington DC. This marriage was not to last and soon after ended.

During this transition phase, Doris continued working at the DC Marriott and Uncle Jim became a strong support for Doris and her family. Jim often purchased easter clothes for the kids and any other needs that the kids would have. Often offering transportation for Doris to and from work, was an opportunity where he taught Doris how to drive. As Jim aged, he began to need elderly assistance and Doris regularly left work early, to respond to his needs when she would get calls. She did this selflessly, putting her job on the line to care for Uncle Jim.

Along the way, Doris met her neighbor Nancy who became a life long friend and her neighbor Lal who became a lifelong spouse.

On February 9th 1970, Doris married Lal Chand Bhalla.

In 1971, when Uncle Jim became sick and could no longer live alone, Doris and Lal Bhalla moved to a larger house in Landover and took Jim in for the remainder of his lifetime and cared for him until the time of his death. This move was significant because Doris relocated from a lifetime in Washington DC to Maryland. The home was larger and could accommodate the whole family with the addition of Uncle Jim.

For the first time in her life, Doris had a big yard where she enjoyed sitting outside, gardening and cooking out. The family purchased an above ground swimming pool as a nice addition to the yard which was thoroughly enjoyed by the family. After two and a half years they moved again when they purchased the Brentwood Taylor Street home where she would live out her days. Uncle Jim was able to spend the last four month of his life here, being cared for by Doris and Lal. Doris made it known to everyone that it was important for her to be present, if possible, at the time that Uncle Jim would pass away.

Truly, Doris was a lifelong server and a host to many at this home and Uncle Jim was an honorary GodFather to her. Because her father died when Doris was very young, Uncle Jim was a very significant person in her life.

On April 7th, 1972 Raj Kumar Bhalla was born to Doris and Lal Bhalla. At this time at the Brentwood home, Doris enjoyed feeding all the neighborhood birds and squirrels, doing yard work, and being outdoors. She liked hosting yard parties, birthday parties and cookouts. It was common to invite and any and all neighbors. Everyone was welcome. It was not uncommon to walk in to the house and be asked if you were hungry. Lal would say, “Do you want something to eat? Do you want some tea? Doris, make him a sandwich and tea!"

She greatly enjoyed sharing her home with others. As Raj grew, Doris enjoyed having epic battles which usually involved wet towels, pinching and some type of pain. Raj grew to enjoy instigating all sorts of pranks and antics with his mom and anyone who was fortunate to be there at the time. It was as entertaining for the observers as it was the participants. These battles would often end with Doris complaining that he got too good. Her words would echo… “Ouch Raj! That was too rough!” Raj would laugh, Doris would insist that he went too far. They would argue, then Raj would retreat to another room, shouting his apologies from a distance. Raj would resolve the argument by holding his mom while secretly admiring the damage he inflicted. Everyone would have a good laugh and this is how they would show love. This scenario would play out time and time again and leave a lasting impression for everyone and sometimes that impression would be on your skin in the form of a red mark.

There was great community life on Taylor Street. Doris was especially close to Shirley Turner, Audrey Jones, and later on Orphelia Rivera. It was through her friendship with Audrey, that Doris came to Faith in Christ while attending Foursquare Gospel Church around the corner. This became a regularly part of her and her family's life. Doris really embraced the Taylor street community and regularly walked around the neighborhood, visiting neighbors and walking the various dogs the family owned over the years. She even embraced a little bit of bowling. She had a sowing machine and would enjoy sowing, hemming and embroidering.

Her sister Lucille came to live at the Bhalla household residing on the third floor of the house for more than a decade with her cats. Lucille was accustomed to working at night and so would often stay up all night cooking steaks, playing videos games, reading and being an introvert. Lucille loved her animals and she enjoyed having her own space.

On special nights, Lucille would come downstairs in the evening hours and join Doris for family cards games with Deb, Aunt Cathy, Brooke and Judy. They especially enjoyed playing Rook and Penny Poker. Raj and Lal would even join in with Penny Poker and sometimes the other games. This became a routine that lasted for years.

For the majority of Doris' life there was always a dog, cat, fish or even a parakeet or two being cared for. She enjoyed her fish tank, watching them, cleaning and taking care of animals, even though Lal wasn’t a big fan of cats. They enjoyed another swimming pool now at the Brentwood residence and Doris looked forward to it every year, cleaning it and preparing it for the summer season. Lal and Doris use to enjoy swimming in the pool at night and relaxing after a hard days work and sometimes the whole family joined.

As time went on, Doris became a grandmother and a great grandmother. Raj and his wife Wendy built a house across the street and Doris and Lal regularly got to spend time with theirs kids and grandchildren. Doris and Lal enjoyed visiting their lifelong friend Nancy Floyd and Doris' Brother and wife, Chuck and Barbara.

Doris’ son Joe would annually send roses on Mother’s Day because he knew Doris loved receiving flowers. He would fly from California to Maryland to spend time with the Family every year.

Doris experienced great loss in her life with the passing of both of her sons Raj in 2007 and Joe in 2013. Because Raj was a law enforcement officer for the 3rd District of Washington DC, his partner Jeff Ramirez and Raj had agreed that if either passed away, they would look out for and care for the other’s family. Jeff Ramirez has honored his commitment to Raj through his support to Lal and Doris since Raj’s passing and the family offers gratitude.

After Doris’ loss of of her son’s she continued to embrace a life of hospitality and serving others.

She saw her grandchildren as grownups, enjoyed grandkids even until the last week of her life where she sat up from bed to give hugs and kisses to her great grand kids days before her passing.

She is survived by her husband Lal Bhalla, last remaining child, Debra Mead, Grandchildren Jennifer and Stephen Mead, Rachel and Raju Bhalla, and Great Grand children, Jaiden, Penny, Lily, Matthew and Skylar.

The family would like to offer and extend appreciation to the neighbors, friends and medical workers who have helped to alleviate the challenges of this time of Doris’ medical treatment and passing as well as assisting Lal in the day to day hardships. We know that even after a loved one passes, there is still work to be done to help care and support those who have experienced this loss, in particularly Lal as he will continue to need support, assistance and encouragement.

Doris was a person known to be very loving and very caring, regularly putting others before herself and she will be missed. She passed away on Easter Sunday, April 17th 2022 at around 9 am with her husband at her side.