Doris Frances Powers

Doris Francis Deagle Powers of Redding, California, died April 15th, 2023, in Los Banos, California, in the care and company of her son and his family. She was blessed to be surrounded by loving individuals for her last few years, after over 25 years of independent living.

Doris was born November 9, 1943, in Brooklyn, New York, where her Army father happened to be stationed at the time. Her parents, Elwell (Al) Deagle and Mary Sweeney, of proud French and Irish descent, were both from Dorchester, Massachusetts. Doris had one older brother, Robert, who was always her protector; as well as being an equal source of pride and embarrassment, just like any good-humored older brother should be. Unfortunately, Robert passed away in 1993, and his loss was deeply felt by the whole family.

Until her father retired from the Army in the early 1960s, the family was stationed in Brooklyn, New York; followed by Berlin and Frankfurt, Germany; Decatur and Augusta, Georgia; Biloxi, Mississippi; and finally, Fort Huachuca, Arizona. It was in Arizona that Al and Mary lived out their retirement years, and Doris and Robert graduated high school.

Doris’ first child, Deirdre, was also born in Arizona, and was subsequently blessed to be raised by a loving and supportive adoptive family. It was the hardest decision of Doris’ life when she had to give up her newborn daughter. Thankfully, Deirdre was reunited with her birth mother almost 30 years later, and they were able to begin sharing their life stories with each other, and also heal some of those old wounds.

A few years later, in 1965, Doris moved to Los Angeles, and spent the rest of her 20’s working and driving her blue mustang around Southern California. In 1976 Doris met a cowboy from Redding named Ken (Kip) Powers, and fell in love. Over the next few years she relocated to Redding, married Kip, embraced the rural life, and had her second child, Michael.

After working a variety of jobs in the 1970’s, Doris began her career at CH2M HILL in Redding in 1978 and remained there for 27 years. She began first as a word processing supervisor, then as a department manager, and finally as a project assistant for the Iron Mountain Mine project. She was well known and respected in her company, both locally and amongst many other regional offices. She retired from the company in 2005.

Doris was a strong and proud woman, who had passions for both horses and the rodeo; for genealogy and family; for community and her country; for always completing crossword puzzles in pen; and above all else, for reading. The sheer volume of books that passed through her shelves would put many libraries to shame.

Doris was a breast cancer survivor, and an advocate for adult literacy programs. She made sure that her son was raised to be a gentleman, but also a fierce believer in voting and equal rights. She also consistently stressed the importance of learning and education; and she was always proud that both of her children earned degrees from prestigious universities.

Doris is survived by her son Michael and his wife, Carla of Los Banos; her daughter Deirdre Richardson, and granddaughters, Sydney and Alexis, all of San Diego; her nephew Ken Deagle and his wife Stephanie of Westminster; her nieces Tommie Deagle of Anaheim and Jeanette Singletary of Lake Elsinore; as well as Jeanette’s son Evan. She is fondly remembered by Michael’s in-laws, including: Carlos, Delia, David, Linda, GB, Nicole, Vida, and Madilyn, each of whom helped in her care. She is also remembered by numerous Massachusetts cousins, as well as her CH2M HILL coworkers, who were just like another family to her.

Thank you to all who were a part of her life.