Doris Alma Wurgler

Doris Alma Clarice (Derwik) Wurgler, 88, of Jackson Heights, New York passed away on August 9, 2025. She
was predeceased by her husband, John Carl Wurgler, and parents, Dorothea (Hermanson) and Sthure Derwik.
Mother of Deborah Wurgler, Susannah Wurgler-Murphy and husband Russell, and Rebekah Wurgler-Kulhanek
and husband Steve. Mormor to grandchildren Clare, Siobhan, and Russell D. W. Murphy, and Cecilia and
Grace Kulhanek.

Doris earned a Bachelor's degree in music from Mount Holyoke College where she graduated at the age of
twenty in 1957. She cherished her time in the Mount Holyoke Glee Club which featured her as a soloist on
recordings. Beginning her career as a music teacher in Long Island, Doris later earned Master's degrees in
special education and deaf education at Teachers College, Columbia University. She started as a teacher of
the deaf in PS 47 in Manhattan and later moved to the Lexington School for the Deaf, where she taught for
thirty-three years.
A life-long resident of Jackson Heights, Doris cared greatly about building the community and loved to share
stories about growing up there. She and John both volunteered with the Jackson Heights Federation. Doris
was one of the founders of the Jackson Heights Children's Center, which provided working parents with
childcare. She was an active member of the Jackson Heights Beautification Group, editing Views from the
Heights and serving as a JHBG board member. She grew up in Community United Methodist Church in
Jackson Heights and later attended Fifth Avenue Presbyterian Church in Manhattan. She was also a board
member of the Brooklyn United Methodist Church Home.
Swedish heritage was an integral part of Doris' life. She passed along a love of family history and holiday
traditions to her children and grandchildren. She cherished Swedish hemslojd (handscrafts), especially the
weavings and handwork created by her aunt in Jonstorp, Sweden. Doris was an active member of Skandia
Lodge in Manhattan and served as its president for many years. She was on the board of the Swedish Home
for the Aged in Staten Island as her father had been.

Doris loved Camp Sloane in Lakeville, Connecticut where she spent many happy summers as a child. Her
daughters and grandchildren all followed in her footsteps as Sloane campers.

A life-long lover of gardening, Doris cultivated a beautiful garden in her Jackson Heights home. She delighted
in offering plants to family and friends, and her gifts continue to bloom in neighborhood gardens. Doris loved to
share the many gardens of New York, along with the city's history and culture, with all of her grandchildren.

Doris loved music, especially playing the piano. She regularly traveled with her husband and later her
daughter, Deborah. She taught her children that one generation helps the next and "Where there is heart room,
there is house room".

A funeral service will be held on Saturday, August 16th, from 2:00 - 2:30 pm in the chapel of the Fresh Pond
Crematory, 61-40 Mount Olivet Crescent, Middle Village, New York. Family and friends are respectfully invited
to attend.

Her family would like to thank the doctors at Weill-Cornell Medical Center, the wonderful aides from ElderCare,
and the hospice nurses from Metropolitan Jewish Health System. In lieu of flowers, contributions in Doris'
memory may be made to the Jackson Heights Beautification Group (jhbg.org), Weill Cornell Medicine Myleoma
Center (https://give.weill.cornell.edu/ways-give/make-gift) or Mount Holyoke College, 50 College Street, South
Hadley, Massachusetts 01075.