“ ‘Tis easy enough to be pleasant
When life flows along like a song
But the girl worth while
Is the girl with a smile
Whenever anything goes dead wrong.
That’s you.”
While these lines originate from a poem titled “Worth While” by E.W. Wilcox, they encapsulate the beauty of Doris’ demeanor and character. Doris Christine (Goodwin) Weaverling was the oldest child born to Elmer Bragdon and Mattie E. (Benson) Goodwin February 28, 1921 in Franklin, Venango Co., Pennsylvania. After high school, she earned an RN from the Riverside Hospital School of Nursing in Jacksonville, Florida in 1942. In August 1943, she entered the US Navy and served as a Naval officer and nurse, earning the rank of LTJG. It was during this time in Seattle, Washington, Doris met the love of her life, Robert “Bob” Max Weaverling, an enlisted medical corpsman. Family tradition goes that Bob had to salute to her when they met as she outranked him. After the war, Bob and Doris united in holy matrimony on September 3rd, 1948 in Daytona Beach, Florida. Within a few years, Doris completed a second degree, a Bachelor of Science degree in Home Economics from Kansas State University in 1950. Due to Bob’s employment, Doris and their family were able to live in places such as Shreveport, LA, Caney, KS, Watsonville, CA, and Dallas, TX. In 1990, Doris and Bob retired to Hot Springs Village, AR and then to Kingswood Senior Living Center (Kansas City, MO) where she passed away on October 13, 2019. Doris was preceded in death by her parents, her siblings Esther G. (Goodwin) Perdue, Elmer “Butch” Benson Goodwin, and Glenn “Bud” Wallace Goodwin, and one grandchild, Jonathan H. Schnepp. She has survived by her husband of 71 years, Robert “Bob” Max Weaverling, her four children: Nancy W. Merryman (Randy), Susan W. Simpson (Richard Barber), Jack Benson Weaverling (Lynne), and Jamie W. Prescott (Mike); eight grandchildren: Kelly C. Tovar (Mark), Taylor D. Merryman (Allison), Story R. Simpson (Kelsie), Matthew S. Gann, Kristin N. Prescott (Josh), Lucas R. Weaverling, Kalyn M. Weaverling, and Connor J. Weaverling; and twelve great-grandchildren. Doris enjoyed cooking, sewing, genealogy, politics, and reading poetry, history, and mysteries. She was a proud and devout K-State fan. Doris was a dedicated member of the Methodist faith, and she and Bob were long-time members of the Walnut Hills United Methodist Church (Dallas, TX), Christ of the Hills United Methodist Church (Hot Springs Village, AR), and St. John’s United Methodist Church (Kansas City, MO). As in the last stanza of the poem “Worth While,” we see Doris’ gentleness and sweet spirit that captured the hearts of all those who knew and loved her:
“By the cynic, the sad, the fallen,
Who had no strength for the strife,
The world’s highway is cumbered to-day;
They make up the sum of life.
But the virtue that conquers passion,
And the sorrow that hides in a smile,
It is these that are worth the homage on earth
For we find them but once in a while.”
Funeral and interment services for immediate family only will be held on July 31st, 2020 at Leavenworth National Cemetery on 150 Muncie Road in Leavenworth, Kansas.
In lieu of flowers, memorials may be sent to:
Christ of the Hills United Methodist Church
700 Balearic Road
Hot Springs Village, AR 71909
Memo: Weaverling Memorial Fund
or
Kingswood Foundation
10000 Wornall Road
Kansas City, MO 64114
Memo: Weaverling Memorial Bench
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