Dorys Elaine McIntosh was born on November 30, 1920. She lived a quiet life with her parents and three siblings, Mildred, Jack, and Morris. Upon graduation from high school, she moved to Pittsburg, Kansas to find work, which she did at the Blue Bird Café. It was at this café that she met the love of her life, Joseph Marvin Ward.
Joe and Dorys married September 17, 1939 and settled in Pittsburg, Kansas. They added two children to their family, James Joseph and Debby Elaine in the coming years. Joe worked on the Frisco Railroad as a brakeman and later a trainmaster and this caused the family to live in many towns throughout the Midwest; Springfield, Missouri; Tulsa, Oklahoma; Webster Groves, Missouri; Chaffee, Missouri; Thayer, Missouri, and Fort Scott, Kansas. During this time, Dorys achieved a lifelong dream of getting her college degree when she graduated from Southwest Missouri State University with a Bachelor’s degree in Library Science.
Dorys lost Joe in June 1978 and moved to Texas. There she got a job at the public library and became very active in the local Republican Women’s group. She made many friends in this group and enjoyed spending time with family and friends. After more than a decade in Texas, Dorys moved back to Missouri to live close to her daughter and family.
Throughout Dorys’ life, she loved to travel. She started that with Joe, visiting most of the fifty (50) states before he passed away. She continued that after moving to Texas and was fearless – traveling to Scotland and Hawaii with friends!
Dorys was a prolific writer during her life. She always had a story she was working on and eventually published several books; Mike’s Oil Patch; The Gypsy Legend of the Fourth Nail; and The Mystery of Wolfgang’s Church as well as many short stories. She typically wrote stories with characters named after those nearest and dearest to her, her family.
Dorys often said that the thing she was most proud of in her life was her family. She loved to spend time with family and you could often find members of the family stopping by her house. They would always be greeted with a good story, good smells coming from the kitchen and good conversation around the dinner table.
She is survived by her children, James (Sue) Ward and Debby (Larry) Boothe; 5 grandchildren, Beth (Quentin) Smith, Donna (Griff) Griffin, Michael Boothe, Katie (Ross) Eckhardt, and Joseph Ward; and 6 great grandchildren, Avery Smith, Ashyln Smith, Cole Eckhardt, Charlie Eckhardt, Daniel Ward, and Ava Ward.
Dorys was a hard worker, a role model for her family, a lady to the end, and a friend to all animals. She will be missed!
August 9, 2013 @ 4:14 pm
My heart goes out to all in the family. She would tell you nothing is lost as all that she and Joe was lives on within each of you.
Dorys was such a dear friend – there wasn’t much she wouldn’t tackle and I will never forget her signing up for a computer class with me when she was in her late 60’s. She kept asking me if I thought she was too old to be there…but, she was so determined to learn and put to use her own brand-new computer that she bypassed all others in the class grade-wise. I will never forget the evening she proudly stood up and announced her age. she taught us all you were never too old to accomplish something in life. She will always be loved. Please know that my thoughts and prayers are with each and everyone. Linda K. Ballard – Kilgore, TX