Doris S. Pepin

Doris Naomi Shinneman Gorman Pepin was born in Clarion, Iowa, on March 20, 1921, to Merle Alvin Shinneman and June Frances Ketchum. She graduated from Oelwein High School in Oelwein, Iowa, in 1939. She played the trombone as a member of her high school band and she enjoyed being active in journalism. She was an avid reader, making weekly trips to her local library even during the final year of her life. For a time, Doris lived in Chicago with her sister Barbara. She spoke fondly of their time there, and being so poor they had to read intermittently by the light of the local trains running past their apartment window. Doris worked her way through college, graduating from Iowa State Teachers College, now known as University of Northern Iowa, in Cedar Falls, Iowa. Before completing college she met Richard F. Gorman. They soon married and had three children, Dick, Diana and Douglas. The young couple taught at several high schools in various parts of central Iowa before moving to Maxwell, Iowa, where Richard became the principal of Maxwell High School. Doris was also employed as a teacher at Maxwell High. While they lived in Maxwell, the family of four (and one on the way) lived in an 8'x25' mobile home located within walking distance of the high school. In April 1950, while taking the Maxwell High senior class on an annual "skip day," Richard's car was broadsided by a bread truck killing Richard and one of the seniors in the car. Doris was driving another car full of seniors in front of Richard's car and returned to the accident scene when she could no longer see his car following hers. A widow with a seven-year-old son and a two-year-old daughter, Doris eighteen days later gave birth to her second son. After the accident, Doris returned to Oelwein, Iowa, to be near her parents. She then took a job selling classified advertising for the Oelwein Daily Register. Even though her employer was a small town newspaper, Doris rose to national prominence in her field. In addition to receiving numerous awards, she was chosen to be the keynote speaker at the National Convention of Classified Advertisers in 1956, and received employment offers from major newspapers around the country. In 1956, Democratic Party officials recruited Doris to run for a seat in the Iowa State Senate. The Democratic candidate for president, Adlai Stevenson, even visited her district to endorse her and demonstrate his support. Although she did not win the race, she garnered a larger vote total in that senate district than Adlai Stevenson did. The year 1956 was notable because that was the year Doris said yes to an anxious suitor named George Pepin. George had been courting Doris for some time and was undaunted by the prospects of stepping into the role of father for a household with three children. They were married on October 2, 1956. Although they were divorced in 1983, George came back courting again and they remarried thirty years later on June 6, 2013. George passed away later that month on June 22, 2013. In 1959, Doris became interested in the teachings of a pair of young missionaries, Elder Totten and Elder Jones, from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. On June 1st of that year she was baptized by the elders and never lost her testimony in Jesus Christ or the Gospel. In 1960, George's work with RCA took the family to Georgia. They initially lived in Marietta and later established roots in Smyrna. While in Smyrna, Doris saw her children finish high school, college, and even medical school in the case of her oldest child. Doris herself earned a master's degree in Education from Georgia State University during this time. While she lived in Georgia, all of her children got married and began families of their own which eventually totaled ten grandchildren. Doris was committed to the written word for communication, utilizing her pen to write letters of encouragement and support to people throughout her life. When Bill Hilscher, a high school friend of Douglas, returned from his tour of duty in Vietnam, he told Douglas Doris sent him letters throughout his entire tour of duty. Bill expressed his profound gratitude for receiving those letters during that critical time in his life. In the mid 1980s Doris moved to Arizona and lived there a number of years, residing in both Mesa and Payson. While in Arizona, Doris became an avid square dancer and especially enjoyed having her brother Merlin Dell living in the area. Every summer Doris loaded up the available grandchildren and took them on road trips across the country. This annual cross-country vacation is a cherished memory for those grandchildren who participated. Several years later, Doris moved from Arizona to Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, which placed her close to her youngest son and his family. They enjoyed having Doris nearby for the last two decades of her life, and periodically went on shared vacations together. One year in the late 1990s Doris, her sister Barbara, her brother Dell and George were able to go on an Alaskan cruise for a week. When her son Douglas asked her if they enjoyed getting together again as siblings for a vacation, she informed him that during their childhood in the Great Depression they never had a vacation. The Alaskan cruise was their first time to vacation as siblings. In the spring of 1999, Doris was able to join Douglas' family on a trip to New York City. The trip was especially significant because the destination hotel was the Marriott Hotel located at the base of the World Trade Center twin towers, and she was able to view the antenna system on the roof of the World Trade Center installed a number of years earlier under George's supervision. In March of 2016, Doris gave up a degree of her independence and moved in with Douglas and Millie. She was able to have the use of a bedroom and bath suite on the ground floor she enjoyed referring to as her "apartment." Doris had very strong political views, including being an ardent supporter of the 2nd Amendment. Even as she suffered with pneumonia in the hospital this past week, she insisted she not receive any sleep medication until the third presidential debate was concluded. Doris returned home on the afternoon of October 24, 2016. She was able to see her beloved dog, Lucy, one more time and passed away that evening with family members at her side. Visitation 6-8 P.M., Thursday, October 27, 2016 at Moore's Southlawn, 9350 E. 51st, Tulsa, OK. Cryptside will be 2:00 P.M., Friday, October 28, 2016 at Memorial Park Cemetery Mausoleum, 5111 S. Memorial Drive, Tulsa, OK. Moore's Southlawn 918-663-223

Doris S. Pepin

March 20, 1921 - October 24, 2016