Longtime Forks resident Doris Elaine Markham, age 81, passed away peacefully December 2, 2020, in the company of her loving family.
She was born April 1, 1939, in Aberdeen to Lawrence and Edna Purcell.
Doris spent her formative years living in Bonners Ferry, Idaho, with her parents and Western Montana with her grandparents. Doris eloped with Alfred Storseth of Spokane and had her son Roger. She later married Fredrick Gallagher of Spokane, where she had her daughter, Edna. They lived in San Francisco before eventually moving to Spokane, and separating.
She married her longtime friend and life partner, Donald Fred Markham, who preceded her in death in 2015. Don and Doris had a family of six children; Roger (Diane) and Edna (Tim) Klahn whom her husband adopted, Donald James
“Butch” (Patty), Rhonda (Bob) Sinex, Lori (Earl) Richardson whom they had together and their grandson Alex (Gabe) whom they adopted.
Doris loved to love and to help people; social activity and making a difference was a must for her. She was active with the Assembly of God Church in Forks where she was a Youth Pastor’s assistant for many years, ran the printing press/offset machine, and was heavily involved with kitchen banquets and a ladies’ quilting club.
She had a kindness, humor, and desire to make people happy – she strived to make the world a brighter place. For many years Doris volunteered for Quileute Head Start and Forks Elementary and Middle Schools before moving to Minnesota where she was a special needs school bus driver and later worked as a para-professional and bus aide until her retirement. Doris loved kids so much that she worked summers at Dairy Queen to help support fundraisers and to offer treats to children, which she had deducted from her earnings. Doris’ retirement was spent in South Central Minnesota where she enjoyed spending time with friends, family, traveling, and her involvement with New Creation World Outreach Church where she was a greeter.
Doris’s life was a living example of a Bible verse that she held dear, 1 Peter 4:10 – “Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God’s grace in its various forms.”
She spent the years after Don died doing even more traveling and going between her home, Lori’s home, Alex’s home and that of – and later with – her friend and caregiver, Judy Driggers, whom she loved as a daughter.
Doris is survived by her brother Pete; her children and their spouses (except for her son-in-law Earl, whose unfortunate and untimely death came earlier this year) and many grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and great-great-grandchildren.
Services will be announced at a later time due to the COVID19 pandemic. The family asks that instead of flowers, please donate to the Alzheimer’s Association in her memory where donations are being matched through the end of this year.
