Doris Jean Giago

I taught at SDSU from 1995-1998 and volunteered with Doris advising the Native American Club. She was a lovely person and soon made me feel comfortable enough to ask an impertinent question: was it preferable to refer to her as an Indian or a Native American? She smiled and said, "Why don't you just call me Doris!" That loving response has colored my life ever since. So, it probably is no coincidence that today, less than 3 weeks after she went on, but 25 years after we saw each other last, I felt a need to connect. Hello again, and good bye.

I left Brookings a couple of years before Doris arrived, and so I wasn't aware of her or her contributions until reading this. What an amazing woman. I'm sure she will be missed.

In loving memory of a wonderful person. We will love you and miss you always.

I asked Doris to make me a star quilt to honor the young man from Germany who was my stem cell donor and saved my life. She used her unique creativity and not only made a beautiful quilt, but told me the story of what inspired her to use blue colors. She told me that blue was the color she related to healing and the blue middle star represented my healing from leukemia. The outer blue fabric reminded her of water, and my healing cells came from across the water, from the young man in Germany. I was able to travel to Europe and meet this young man, tell him this beautiful story, and honor him with the beautiful star quilt Doris made.
Thank you Doris for all your beautiful creations!