Obituary of Doris Marcellus

MARCELLUS, Doris (nee Kitchen) - With deep sadness we announce the passing of our mother Doris Marie Marcellus, peacefully in her home surrounded by her loving family in her 90th year. Doris is predeceased by her husband William (Bill) Alfred Marcellus and her parents Joseph William and Mary (Kadey) Kitchen of Port Dover. She is survived by daughters Ellen Fox (Brian Fox), Marilyn Marcellus and Susan Marcellus (Don Detweiler) and grandchildren Jenna and Kristina Fox and Atticus and Wheeler Saunders. Dear Granny to Vivian and Vincent Pang. Doris grew up on the Kitchen Farm on Lakeshore Road east of Port Dover. She attended Woodhouse #7 Lakeshore School and graduated from Port Dover High School followed by the commercial program at Simcoe High. At seventeen she joined the workforce as a Secretary and and also taught typing and shorthand to the RCAF Servicemen based in Jarvis. Later Doris moved to Hamilton in order to take evening art classes while she worked at Szabo Motors. Doris married Bill upon his return from overseas with the RCAF. They moved to Brantford where Doris was employed at Universal Cooler. As well as starting a family and raising 3 daughters in the 1950's, Doris was always very involved in her community. She enjoyed volunteering as a 4-H leader and many children learned to cook and sew in her home. Doris was a member and past president of Tranquility and Fairview Women's Institute and a member of Alford and Park Road Branch of Ontario Women's Institute. She was a longtime member of the Tranquility Unit of the Fairview United Church Women, and a member of Tranquility, Wellington Memorial and Fairview United Churches. With her girls in school, Doris was hired full time at the Ontario School for the Blind (later named The W Ross Macdonald School) where she worked in the business office until her retirement in 1989. During this time Doris took up china painting and became "addicted" to pottery that she studied at Mohawk College and became a long time member of the Brantford Potter's Guild. Following her retirement in 1989, Doris joined the local chapter of Project Ploughshares, became a member of Council of Canadians and Voice of Women. She attended many Ontario's Women's Conferences at the University of Waterloo feeling that they "offered nourishment for the soul." In 1991 Doris graduated from Mohawk College with her Certificate in Fine Arts and, in 1999, fulfilled the requirements under the guidelines of the Therapeutic Touch Network of Ontario, becoming a practitioner. She often offered her "special touch" and relieved many friends and acquaintances of their pain, headaches and stresses. Doris had a green thumb and spent many happy and contented hours in her garden. She was a member of the Brantford Garden Club and enjoyed entering flower arrangements in the local competitions. Doris believed in volunteerism and managed the United Way Program at work for many years, volunteered in the craft room at John Noble Home and in the Unicef shop, attended local meetings of the local United Nations Branch and helped to organize the "Peal for Peace" at City Hall each September. Doris followed politics and maintained an interest locally, provincially, nationally and internationally. She was an environmentalist long before it became popular and was a staunch supporter of the NDP. Many of her letters to the newspaper generated significant feedback. Following several trips overseas and to the USA to research her roots, Doris was able to trace her ancestors back to the late 1600s in England, Ireland and Scotland, their emigration to the US and movement north into Canada. Doris joined the United Empire Loyalist Association and proved her eligibility to have "UE" after her name. Doris was a member and past president of the Grand River Branch of the UEL Association of Canada and a member of the Brant and Norfolk Historical Society. As matriarch, Doris researched and penned two books of her family's ancestry, history and stories passed down through the years, leaving a lasting legacy for current and future generations to enjoy. Doris was a talented artist, creating beautiful wedding cakes, watercolours, pottery and china. She was an amazing cook, an avid reader and an eloquent poet. She loved her gardens and flowers, pampered her dogs and cats and always kept the bird feeders full. She treasured her friends and loved her family unconditionally. Her legacy will be cherished and her presence greatly missed. After the clouds, the sunshine, After the winter, the spring, After the shower, the rainbow, For life is a changeable thing. After the night, the morning, Bidding all darkness cease, After life's cares and sorrows The comfort and sweetness of peace. (Helen Steiner Rice) Arrangements have been entrusted to the Beckett-Glaves Family Funeral Centre, (519) 752-4331. Friends are invited to a Celebration of Life at Fairview United Church on Tuesday, December 10th at 2:00 p.m. If you would like, please come prepared to share some special memories. Donations in lieu of flowers to the Brantford SPCA or a charity of your choice is appreciated. A tree will be planted in memory of Doris in the Beckett-Glaves Memorial Forest.