Willodean Gossett Doyle

DOYLE, Willodean (nee Gossett), 88, on Tuesday, September 30, 2014. Beloved wife of the late Floyd "Bud" Doyle; loving mother of Dennis (Mary) Cronin-Doyle; dear sister of Betty Thorne and the late Vernette Franks, Marjeana Franks, Frances Gossett, William Gossett, Hollis Gossett, James Harold Gossett, and Gaylen Gossett; loving aunt, great aunt, cousin, and friend to many.

SERVICES: Visitation 4-8pm Friday, October 3, 2014. Funeral 9:30am Saturday, October 4, 2014 at Alexander-White-Mullen Funeral Home in the East Chapel 11101 St. Charles Rock Rd., St. Ann, MO. Interment in Harvey's Chapel Cemetery, Marmaduke, AR at 3:30pm. Memorial contributions suggested to Fee Fee Baptist Church or to The Bridgeton Senior Center.

A tribute to Willodean Doyle (February 9, 1926 - September 30, 2014) by Dennis Cronin-Doyle

When my father died in 2008, I wrote a piece about the time we spent together while mom was rehabbing from hip surgery. Mom liked it so much she made me promise that I would do the same when her time came. So here goes.........

My early remembrances of life with mom include: riding around town on buses and trolley cars to just about everywhere (she didn't drive), especially at Christmas when we went downtown to shop and visit Santa, see all the decorated and animated store windows and go to movies at the midtown theatres (loved the Fox with it's organ); always having some kind of fabulous dessert around the house (this would be a lifetime specialty of hers, supplying church, family, and fund raising events) as well as many simple but delicious meals; attending church services; and various family celebrations.

Mom was a lifelong Christian and church attendee. First at West Park Baptist Church in Wellston, then Christ Memorial Baptist Church (Normandy and West Park joined together) and lastly at Fee Fee Baptist Church. Through these churches our family developed many lifelong friends. The adults and kids in these families are some of the sweetest and kindest peple I know. Our families played and went on vacations together until the kids grew up and left the roost. Then some of the adults did the same traveling, without us, all over the country including my mom's favorite trip to Hawaii. I later found out that the hotel they stayed at in Honolulu was the same hotel my wife, Mary and I stayed at to celebrate my 50th birthday. They had sucgh a great time together and I was jealous of their many travels.

Both sides of the family were of great importance to Mom. Her family, the Gossett's, are from Marmaduke, Arkansas and consisted of nine brothers and sisters. Mom left there after high school (she didn't want to pick cotton ever again) to come to St. Louis where there was work because of WW2. It was here that she met dad at a dance hall and they kept dancing (metaphorically) throughout their life together, almost making it to their 60th anniversary. The Doyle's were dad and two sisters. Later, the family circle included my wife's family. There were often family members staying at our home in my younger days and mom loved having them around. All appreciated the good food and desserts.

What I mostly hear from family and friends is how kind and friendly she was and how great those desserts were. She loved being around the small kids of the family and church, socializing (we kidded her about being a party girl), sending birthday and Christmas cards to "EVERYONE", traveling and attending church. She was also a big Cardinals baseball fan. This year was the first time she and I did not attend a game together due to her failing health. I'm sorry she had to suffer through the health issues these recent years, but now she can be joined again with dad whom she dearly missed. I hope you two are catching up on life and having a few laughs along the way.