DORIS VIRGINIA SMITH HALEY

Doris Smith Haley, 86, died peacefully at home on January 2, 2013. Doris was cremated on Monday, January 7, 2013 under the direction of the Cremation Society of Kansas and Missouri. No immediate services are planned; the family will hold a celebration of her life in the spring. Family and friends will be notified of the time and place at a later date. Doris was born February 4, 1926 in Boonville, Missouri, to Edwin and Robna Smith, the sixth of seven children. She grew up during the Depression, which had a life-long impact on her values and her life-style. . . .she found pleasure in simple things and she wasted nothing. She was married to Jack Haley in May, 1944 and they had four children. Jack died in 1963 and Doris raised her children alone in an era when there were few resources available for single parents. She was a strong, determined woman and never faltered, even when she was down to two teenage sons still at home and all the shenanigans that 'stage' of child rearing can bring. Doris worked for years for local doctors and did not retire until the age of 72. Many of her co-workers became her friends and after she retired, they all kept in touch with her. She also was friends with families up and down her street and even when some of them moved away, they still maintained contact with Doris. All of these old friends from work and the neighborhood came to visit her over the last six months. Once you met Doris, you could not help but love her. She was warm and funny and thoughtful with a larger-than-life personality. Even as her health declined, her sly sense of humor would still come out regularly. Doris had a curious mind that led her to read incessantly and only watch television programs with educational or cultural value. She didn't go to movies often; she wouldn't waste her time reading novels. She focused on subjects that informed her, taught her and expanded her mind. She had no formal education beyond high school, but she was better read and more knowledgeable about a wide variety of subjects than the majority of college graduates. Doris loved purple and it was everywhere in her home and closet. She fed the birds and had multiple feeders outside her bedroom window that she watched with great joy until the day she died. She loved all things Asian and filled her home with Chinese and Japanese art. She loved to travel -- another facet of her hunger for knowledge -- and took many wonderful trips with her sister. Russia, Nepal, China, Spain, Morocco and Peru were amongst her exotic destinations. She was drawn to the ocean and always had to 'stick a toe in' whenever she was close to any shore. She sponsored the resettlement to Kansas City of a family of Vietnamese refugees after the fall of Saigon and she was a regular part of their lives for many years. She was fascinated by the International Space Station and kept family and friends informed of the times it would be visible in the night sky at their particular latitude and longitude. She was a beautiful human being with a huge heart and a passion for many things. She is survived by her children: Dianne Gomez, Janet Molleup (Richard), Lance Haley and Bruce Haley; her sister and traveling companion, Frances Vinelli; her grandchildren: Tyson Gomez (Myra), Audrey Mesher (Andrew), Erin Mollerup, Spencer Haley and her beloved Makenna Marsat; great-grand- children: Adaline Gomez and Sophia Gomez. Many nieces and nephews survive her as well. There is a Doris-sized hole in our universe that can never be filled, but we will each hold this lovely lady in our hearts forever. The family would like to thank Saint Luke's Hospice for their able and kind assistance with mother's care. We are especially grateful to her nurse, Melissa, and bath aide, Sherry, for the gentle, loving care they provided to her for many months. For anyone wishing to make a memorial gift in her honor, the following suggestions support charitable activities that were dear to Doris: the Himalayan Cataract Project at www.cureblindness.org; Foundation Angelworks at 5459 E. Branchwood Ct., Boise, ID, 83616; or the Salvation Army at www.salarmymokan.org (Arr: Cremation Society of Kansas & Missouri, 8837 Roe, Prairie Village, KS 66207; 913-383-9888) C