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BORN
1925
DIED
2020
Doris Harter Obituary
Nashua, NH - Doris W. Harter, 95, of Nashua, New Hampshire died April 6, 2020 at the Huntington of Nashua, a victim of the Novel Coronavirus.
She was born Doris Louise Williams on February 23, 1925 in Detroit, Michigan and was the eldest child of Herman and Mabel (Kittinger) Williams. She grew up in Detroit and graduated from Cass Technical HS. Following high school, she enrolled in Wayne University in Detroit, where she met Paul Harter, her husband to be, and they were married after he returned from service during World War II. Over the next 30 years she was a devoted wife, homemaker, and mother, raising five children, involved in starting a cooperative nursery school, religious education programs at church and organizing countless carpools.
Following the tragic untimely death of her son, Keith, in 1971 and a subsequent dark period during which she struggled with alcohol addiction, she sought help through AA, emerged fighting and stayed sober for the rest of her life. Looking for a way to give back, she enrolled in an addictions counseling program at the age of 57, finishing three years later. Shortly thereafter her husband retired, and they relocated to Asheville, where she finished her counseling certification and began working with women as an alcohol and drug abuse counselor. She also volunteered at a shelter for battered women. A life-long advocate for the Right to Die movement, she was involved for many years with the Asheville Hemlock Society. At the urging of her children, she and her husband relocated from Asheville to Nashua, New Hampshire to be closer to family support.
She is survived by her children Stacey Roehrs, Paul Harter Jr, Karin Roumanis and Kyle Fowler. She had nine grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren.
She was predeceased by her husband Paul in 2011, by her son Keith Harter in 1971, and by her brothers George and Earl Williams.
A private memorial service will be held at a later date.
Donations in memoriam may be made to the Unitarian Universalist Church of Asheville, One Edwin Place, Asheville, NC 28801.
To plant trees in memory, please visit the Sympathy Store.
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