Doris Winifred Yock

Doris Winifred Yock was born on January 31, 1922, in Maynard, Minnesota, the youngest of four children of Oscar Schimmel and Signora Brevik Schimmel. She died peacefully in the Care Center at Royal Oaks retirement community in Sun City, Arizona, on August 30, 2026.

Doris was valedictorian of her Maynard High School class and obtained a degree in Dental Hygiene from the University of Minnesota in 1942. Later that year, she married Douglas H. Yock, a member of the dental faculty at the University of Minnesota. She worked as a dental hygienist in St. Paul, Minnesota, before the couple moved to San Diego for Doug’s service in the Navy from 1945 to 1947.

They then returned to Minnesota and settled in St. Louis Park, where they raised two sons and became involved in community activities, including a dance club, a gourmet dinner club, and the growth of Westwood Lutheran Church. Their summers were spent at a cabin on Green Lake in western Minnesota, which had been in Doug’s family since the early 1900’s.

Doris completed a BA degree in English and Humanities at the University of Minnesota in 1969 and then joined the faculty of the Dental Hygiene department at Normandale Community College, where she enjoyed teaching from 1970 to 1974. A project to catalog the department’s library rekindled her interest in library science, and she entered the Master’s degree program in Library Science at Minnesota, graduating in 1978.

After retiring in 1981, Doris and Doug moved to Sun City West, Arizona, and began enjoying the desert climate and landscape for most of each year, returning to Green Lake every summer. Doris continued this pattern after Doug’s death in 1988, remaining active with tennis, golf, international travel, and membership in AAUW and American Lutheran Church. She was an avid life-long reader (mainly nonfiction and theology), transitioning to audio books when her vision diminished.

In 2002, Doris moved to the Royal Oaks retirement community, where she lived independently for 20 years before four years in assisted living and the Care Center. She was pleased to eventually receive a medal recognizing her as the community’s most senior resident. When asked, she attributed her longevity to her daily routine of blueberries in the morning and pinot noir in the late afternoon. She gracefully accepted the infirmities and reduced abilities of advanced age, patiently enduring or compensating for them.

Doris was a lovely and gracious person. Generous and kind, she was a wonderful hostess of dinners and family events, enhanced by her gourmet cooking talents. Her care and consideration for people were apparent in all of her interactions. She excelled in easy conversation with anyone. She will be warmly remembered and greatly missed.

Doris was preceded in death by her husband, parents, and siblings, Ralph Schimmel, Blanche (Schimmel) Arneson, and Virgil Schimmel.

She is survived by sons Douglas H. Yock, Jr. (Doris) and Paul G. Yock (Cynthia), grandchildren Lindsey Yock Darabai (Kamruz), Adam Yock (Megan Wongkamalasai), Gregory Yock (Raleigh) and Andrew Yock, and two great grandchildren.

Doris’s family thanks Irma Martinez and her team at Tiffany Care for their exceptional care and companionship for Doris during her last years. Thank you also to the supportive staff of the Care Center at Royal Oaks and Summit Hospice and to the regular visitors from American Lutheran Church.

A private interment service will be held at the municipal cemetery in Spicer, MN.

Memorials may be directed to American Lutheran Church or Royal Oaks Retirement Community in Sun City, AZ.