Born in Crawford, Texas, on March 29, 1932, Doris was the daughter of Henry and Alma Landfried Engelbrecht. She attended Baylor University in Waco, Texas, where she met her future husband, Thomas Bentley Black of Knoxville, Tenn. After graduating from Baylor in 1953, she served for a year as secretary to the university’s president.
Following their marriage in 1955, Tom and Doris lived in Knoxville, where he worked with Tom’s Foods, his family’s snack food manufacturing business. In 1968, the Blacks moved to Columbus, the company’s headquarters. Tom served as executive vice president and COO of the company until 1986, after which he worked in several other local business ventures. He died in 2014.
A loving wife and mother, Doris enjoyed travel and compiled extensive photo albums documenting her trips throughout the world, from Europe and Russia to the Middle East and China. A talented pianist and organist and a faithful Baptist, she played for many church events throughout the years. She visited church members in the hospital on a regular basis, where she offered patients encouragement and support. Blessed with the gift of hospitality, she was active in various local organizations and frequently hosted visiting guests and dignitaries in her home.
In her later years, she renewed a longtime interest in art, especially painting. As a child, her favorite subject was her family’s farm in Texas, and as an adult, she studied extensively with Marge Tilley and Cynthia Golden-Frasier. She was active with the Tilley Tuesday Morning Art Class for more than 15 years, during which time she had the opportunity to travel to France to study painting. She adored Cynthia Frasier for many years at Spring Harbor and greatly learned many artistic techniques from her. Doris was a member of the Columbus Artists’ Guild and of the steering committee for Columbus State University’s Friends of Art. She continued to paint until shortly before her death, and many of her family members and friends have been recipients of her paintings.
Doris Black is survived by her four daughters: Kathy Stewart (Jimmy) of Greenville, S.C., Cindy Sparks (Jay) of Columbus, Gina Watson (Nathan) of Macon, Ga., and Mary Little (Walter) of Birmingham, Ala. She is also survived by nine grandchildren: Emily Sparks Palmore (Justin), Jenny Watson Barfield (Carter), Bentley Sparks (Mary), Kate Stewart Fogleman (Scott), Meg Stewart, Thomas Watson (Olivia), Mary Nelson Little, Grant Little, and Harrison Little; and by 11 great-grandchildren: Will, Bentley, and Whitten Palmore; Hannah, Sarah James, and Noah Barfield; Caroline and Aubrey Sparks; Gracie Fogleman; and Thatcher and Parker Watson. In addition to her husband and parents, she is predeceased by a grandson, Nate Watson.
A celebration of Doris Black’s life will be held on Thursday, May 21 at 3:00 p.m. at First Baptist Church of Columbus, with the Rev. Jimmy Elder presiding. The family will receive friends afterward in the church’s fellowship hall.
The family wishes to express its appreciation to the staff at Spring Harbor Skilled Nursing and to Doris’s caregivers, Tracy Ellis, Beverly Ford, and Barbara Hughes, for their loving support.
In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to First Baptist Church of Columbus, Mercer University School of Medicine, Columbus Campus, or Columbus Hospice.
