Doris Marie Chappell

Doris Marie Martin Chappell was born in Houston, Texas on June 10, 1927. She was youngest of four children born to Ada Wilson Martin and William Martin. She was a proud graduate of Phyllis Wheatley High School in Houston. She also attended Wiley College in Marshall, Texas along with her childhood neighbor and friend Mary Yates. Over the years, Doris and Mary remained active in their Wheatley class reunions and Wiley College functions. For over 60 years, Doris Marie was a loyal Deaconess and dedicated Service Club member of Mt. Zion Baptist Church. Married in 1955 to Joe Nathan Chappell, Jr., the couple was blessed with two daughters, Gina Marie (1957) and Jo Natalyn (1967). They gained son-in-law with the marriage of Jo Natalyn to Charles Albert Lawson II of Dayton, Ohio in July 1997. Finally at age 75, after many years of waiting, Doris Marie became a grandmother to her first grandchild, Hailey Marie. Soon to follow were Hailey's brothers, Austen Chappell and Ashtin Charles. Doris Marie created long-lasting friendships wherever she was, traveling extensively with the Barrett family across the country on family vacations. When she retired from the Houston Public Library after 30 years of service, Doris continued her travels internationally to Western Europe, Mexico, and the Caribbean with her close friends Anita Scott and Louise Harris. Doris was a good artist and loved scrapbooking; fashion; sewing; gardening; flower arranging and event planning. For many years she was an active participant in the Tom Bass "Young At Heart" senior group where she loved exercising, acting with the Drama Club and playing cards. Doris was preceded in death by her parents, one sister Kathlyn Dancy, two brothers: Scott and William Alexander "Alec" Martin, and her husband. Doris leaves behind a host of nieces, nephews, and cousins. No obituary can adequately illustrate the intricate road that life sends us down, but it can be said with certainty that Doris Marie loved many things: a good laugh, her family and friends, the great fellowship at Mt. Zion, travel and, we know, cherished every day she was given.