Her struggle with life ended without the dignity it deserved; slowly diminishing with the progression of Alzheimer’s disease, even the simple task of eating became impossible without help. On the day of her 95th birthday she began to injure herself at home by falling and it was just a couple of months before she was required to take up residence in a convalescence facility.
There was a difficult time of adjustment that February of 2018 but she eventually made friends with her roommate and the nursing staff; things were as good as they could be but her condition only worsened as the months passed.
February turned into August and Doris began to loose consciousness over a ten-day period ending on August 14 at 10:57 am when she drew her last weak breath. We all struggled with her in those last days of convalescence and she had extra support from the staff of Sharp Hospice who showed her tender, loving care and made sure that she was pain free and comfortable.
Doris began her life in Omaha, Nebraska on September 14, 1922 the 3rd and last child of her parents, George and Gertrude. Her brother, Vernon age 6 and sister Marie age 4 were attentive to their small sister and lovingly protective. Doris states that she has no memories of their home on Q-Street but remembers some of the things that happened to her between the ages of three and four.
She recalls that a lost German Shepard dog became part of the family after her father searched for his owner without luck; they named him Shep and he was dearly loved. For some reason the dog would not enter the house and preferred to sleep on the front porch which probably lead to his demise when in a couple of years he caught phenomena. Despite medical treatment and a comfortable bed in the basement, Shep died and the children were devastated. His body was unceremoniously placed in a burlap bag and taken away to the river for disposal.
Doris recalls her mother in this time doing most of the cooking and housekeeping as she watched and cared for her three young children. Remembering that her father would ring the neck of a chicken before her mother had the gruesome task of cleaning and preparing it for dinner. This was a task that Gertrude hated to do and Doris said that she doesn’t understand why it never put her off from eating chicken; that she especially enjoyed it, fried with a crispy crust.
There was only an outhouse available for a toilet; except for the slop jar in the basement; neither option was a pleasant experience. Doris recalls a stormy night when she had to visit the outdoor toilet; with the lightning and thunder, her mother said, “God is with you” and handing her a small carnosine lamp, she proceeded with what she had to do. Just the same, she had a fear of thunder that remained with her all her life.
With a promise of work for George from his brother in California, it was decided after much debate that the family would make the move. Gertrude did not want to leave her family and friends but gave in to her husband who promised more money and a better life. There was much to do with the decision of what to pack and what to ship ahead. Gertrude decided to invite friends and family to an impromptu party though there was still much to do. When George came home from work, he became angered and asked everyone to leave. Two days later, Gertrude and her daughters would board the train to California. George and his son would follow in the car some days later when all the legal details of the home sale were settled in Nebraska.
It was 1928 when the family settled in their new California home. Doris recalls that the house was much larger than their old home and that it had a nice bathroom. Located on Cashio Street in Los Angeles, the children had a run of the extensive neighborhood and she and her sister would sometimes visit themselves on the vacant homes nearby to explore the trappings of those upper class residences; they particularly enjoyed visiting the extravagant bathrooms. This was a curiously trusting time when few people locked the doors to their home.
Dinner was always a challenge for young Doris as she was a picky eater especially when it came to vegetables. Her father would make her stay at the table until she finished her plate that she did begrudgingly and sometimes she would hide the food in her pocket instead of eating it. She was a very skinny child and had problems with leg pain likely for the lack of good nutrition. She recalls having a craving for milk and once drank a can of table cream for which she was severely scolded.
Breakfast was her least favorite meal; it usually consisted of oatmeal, which was even less appealing than vegetables to her. A sandwich for lunch was always eaten with pleasure and often her sister would give her the sandwich that she was given to eat, as Marie feared that she would get too fat. As it turns out, it seems that all three children had some kind of eating disorder.
The new home was near by Beverly Wood and as the children became more independent, Gertrude would work at cleaning the homes of the wealthy earning a quarter an hour for her labor. George worked with his brother until there was a falling out between them probably caused by the expanding problems of the Great Depression. His next job would be managing a Dreyer’s Ice Cream Parlor and he would treat his family regularly with the product he made to the delight of Doris who loved and craved Vanilla Ice Cream.
Doris started elementary school on September 4, 1928 in Omaha and continued studies in the LA school system at El Rodeo Elementary earning much better than average grades despite her poor eyesight. Sadly her parents could not afford the glasses to correct her vision; she never asked for special treatment to be seated in the front of the class. In school, Doris was sometimes considered by some of the school children as “Stuck-up” because she was not reliably able to recognize the faces of her classmates.
Despite having good grades, Doris often said that she went to school to just to eat her lunch. She did however excel at physical education and enjoyed handball and other sports activities. This is likely the time when she started to enjoy dancing and never missed an opportunity to dance at a school event or elsewhere. These interests continued as she progressed to Alexander Hamilton High School where she perused a secretarial career. She excelled with shorthand dictation and typewriting transcription. As a teenager, she anxiously sought a job and started work on her 17th birthday at the Lido Theater as an usherette. When she graduated from High School she took a hiatus with her best friend Marie to travel to East on an adventure to visit her girlfriend’s prospective husband.
Doris returned home and got a job at McKesson & Robbins Wholesale Division utilizing her secretarial skills for the first time. She also sold War Bonds in 1942 and won a stuffed Panda Bear for her efforts. She cherished this bear and named him “Bobo”. Advancing her career, she landed a job at 20th Century Fox sometime later and met Harry Bartholomew, a film editor whom she would marry and divorce after a few years due to incompatibility.
Doris then found a secretarial position at North American Aviation where she met and dated Clyde Brown whom she married early in 1953. Clyde was nearly 13 years her senior but she was very much in love. They rushed into their union after Clyde had a quickie divorce and then a quickie marriage in Tijuana Mexico. The first several years were difficult because he had to pay alimony to his x-wife Edith and in that time a baby was born whom they named Ronald.
Doris and Clyde had a great marriage in the beginning; they loved to go out to dance and play cards with friends. Gertrude and sister Marie would watch their young child when they needed a break from parenting. It wasn’t until Clyde had retired after a long career, that married life became complicated; he had a hard adjustment with not working as a master machinist and eventually took part time job assignments with past associates. A short separation between Doris and Clyde occurred which made him unusually angry. Eventually an understanding was achieved and Doris was again a dutiful wife until his untimely death in 1983.
After Clyde’s death, Doris had a difficult adjustment living alone. She went out on her own and flirted with the idea of marriage once again but she was only interested in younger men. At some point she became involved with Bob who was 10 years younger and separated from his wife. He was Catholic so divorce was not an option and thus marriage was an unlikely possibility. Just the same, Doris enjoyed his company and affection for several years. She met his children and his wife and got along with all of them.
With a mistaken idea, Doris thought Bob would follow her North to Folsom California where her best friend Marie lived. She sold her mobile home and moved away to set up a new apartment. Bob did not leave his family and this was a sad separation for her leading to clinical depression. Marie was helping her spend the proceeds from the sale of her old mobile home buying furnishings for her new apartment without any concern for future economic conditions. This shopping was likely her way of dealing with the depression but ultimately, nothing could relieve the sorrow for loosing Bob.
After a time, Doris realized how unhappy she was with her decision to move to Folsom, it was proving an expensive place to live as rents were inflated from being so close to the Prison facility there. With help from her son, she was invited to temporarily move into his home in San Diego and in few months, she found a reasonably priced studio to rent. The studio proved to be too small but it was only a matter of time before the application for Section-8 housing was approved. She then moved to Lakeshore Villas where she lived in two different apartments. In the last apartment located on the third floor, Doris lived a very happy life. The last three years of her occupancy were plagued with trouble and the help she was able to get through Senior Services eventually was inadequate to meet her needs.
In and out of the Hospital, she eventually had to give up her apartment. With many falls and finally what was characterized as a mild stroke on her 95th birthday, Doris had to go into convalescent care. Doris left Sharp Memorial Hospital and was admitted to Claremont Health and Wellness Center where they tried to help her recover. She was there from February 1st through August 14th when she peacefully passed away. Just two weeks before she said to her son that that she was ready for death.
Doris made many friends at the Convalescent home but had difficulty in assimilating to the environment. She had the best care possible with Hospice; in the end there was little they could do except treating her severe pain. She liked to be called “Dorie” and was loved by all that took care of her.
Doris is survived by her Son: Ron Brown, Cousin: Connie Arrant (her children and children’s children), Nephews Glen Jacobson and Dale Jacobson (their children and children’s children) Niece Anita Clawson, 1st Niece: Tomona Bridges (her children and children’s children), Paternal 1st Cousins: Bonny Newman and Judy Rohr (their children and children’s children), Cousins 1x removed: Melissa and Megan (their children and children’s children)…
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