Doris E. Norling

Doris E. (Handy) Norling was born on October 27, 1917 in Underwood, North Dakota, the eldest of four children of Ezra and Blanche (Reeshagen) Handy. Doris survived her three siblings, Helen Hickethier, Marjorie Benesh, and Miles Handy.

When Doris was a young child, the family moved to Washburn, ND, where she attended Washburn Grade School and Washburn High School, graduating in 1935. Doris went on to attend the Bismarck Evangelical Hospital School of Nursing, where she graduated in 1938. Her first job was at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, where she worked for two years. It was at Mayo that Doris re-connected with her Washburn High School sweetheart, Leonard Norling, when Leonard brought his father to Mayo for medical treatment. Doris and Leonard were soon engaged, and in 1940 they moved to Chicago where Leonard had been hired as a civil engineer by the Portland Cement Association. Doris and Leonard were married in Chicago in 1941 and raised four children: James Norling, Linda Janson, Nancy Godshall, and Mary Beth Hayes, who survive.

Doris continued her nursing career at the University of Chicago Billings Hospital and then as a director of nursing at assisted living facilities. As the family grew, Doris transitioned to full time homemaking. She was an active mother and mentor to four children, nine grandchildren, and eleven great grandchildren.

Doris and Leonard moved to Traverse City, Michigan on Leonard’s retirement in 1980. It was here that they had earlier built a family lake house in 1960, which became for the rest of their lives the annual gathering place for family members from far and wide. Doris became the matriarch of the annual lake house experience, a family legacy that will be remembered for generations.

Doris was a long time member of Calvary Lutheran Church in Elk Rapids, and was involved in many church volunteer activities. She also volunteered at several community organizations, including the Grand Traverse Regional Land Conservancy, Hospice, the Law Library, and the TC Senior Center.

On December 2, 2020, Doris passed away peacefully at home surrounded by family. She left an indelible mark on family and friends - she will be missed.