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In memory of
Doris Jean Brown
Photo
Doris's obituary
Husband: (Glenn L. Brown) Married July 24, 1955
Parents: (John Cecil Dillinger and Helen Guinevere (Lewis) Dillinger)
In lieu of an obituary I would like to tell you of my firsthand observations of my mother.
First of all, I want to thank my mother for a lifetime of love and understanding.
From the moment I was born in April of 1957 things were not easy for my mother. She suffered from post-partum depression which was not understood at the time and resulted in a lifetime of mental illness management and bouts of bipolar manic episodes that I am sure you have either experienced first hand or heard about. Through it all, there was only kindness and the desire for everyone to be happy and secure in their existence.
Doris grew up on Dillinger Road, then known as Rt. 2. She lived her entire life on Dillinger Road and was the last remaining Dillinger to live there.
Going to Glade elementary, a one room schoolhouse just outside her front door she had to be the envy of her classmates with her short commute. It makes me wonder how many times Shirley walked to school and stopped by to go the last few steps with mother. Countless times I’m sure.
After Glade elementary she attended Carbondale Community High School where she played clarinet in the band. During her CCHS years she took up tap dancing with Shirley as there is a wonderful picture of them performing together at the band shell at Murphysboro’s Riverside park before the fireworks on a July 4th around 1953.
After high school she attended Southern Illinois University in the pursuit of a college degree in education which she completed after the birth of her son Cecil.
During college she met a handsome guy just out of the military also finishing up his degree. They married on July 24th , 1955. They were 13 days shy of being married 65 years. Her cousins sung Always by Irving Berlin at their wedding, we listened to it at her graveside service.
Two years later, Doris gave birth and was afflicted with post-partum depression resulting in 6 months as a patient in the mental hospital in Anna, IL. From what I have learned over the years if you watch the movie One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest you will have a pretty good idea of all the treatments my mother was subjected to. It was only in later years and episodes that the treatments became more civilized with more scientific backing. Still a long way to go.
Doris worked for the civil service at the USDA Forestry Sciences Lab on the SIU campus for over 25 years. She was very competent at her job starting out as an administrative assistant and as a result became the operations manager for the lab in the years before she retired. Just a side note here, the man she replaced had a GS-13 salary rank, Doris never rose above a 9 though through direct conversations with colleagues, things ran much smoother under her watch.
Doris was a lifelong democrat which was the tradition on Dillinger Road with Raymond and Shirley both heavily involved in local politics for decades. I remember my introduction to politics from a very young age as mother took me to Murphysboro, which is the county seat, on election night when I was around 8 years old and watch the counts go up on the blackboard as they came in. Very exciting times indeed.
As a mother she was dedicated to my well being and development beyond what you could imagine. Her dedication to having a good meal prepared for us every evening was not nearly appreciated enough at the time. She and dad took me to play times, practices, ball games and always supported me in my endeavours whether off or on the field.
As a wife, mother always wanted to take care of dad to the best of her ability and it was good enough. In retrospect it is amazing that Doris was able to provide for the family, perform domestic chores and still participate in the community through various organizations such as the Federation of Business Professions for Women (BPW) where she rose to the ranks of Vice-President of the local organization with many years spent as secretary and treasurer.
In the community Doris took great pride in taking on the privilege of playing the piano for the Women’s church group which she did for over 25 years. She participated in many Carbondale Clean-up days and supported and watched the local teams, especially SIU basketball for years. She especially enjoyed watching Cardinals baseball with family.
Though she struggled with mental health all through her adult years she managed to have an adventurous retirement. She and Glenn travelled to 49 states camping all the way. The only state they didn’t make together was Hawaii. Their Alaska trip for their 40th anniversary was a highlight for it included a cruise along the inland passage from Seattle. Along the way they saw Grizzly bears and Humpback whales showing their flukes to go on deep dives. Pictures of Bald Eagles lined up on a dead tree limb are viewed on the bulletin board every time dad walks into the house. One particular story dad is fond of telling is when they were driving very slow on a narrow side road in the Alaska wilderness where the blackberry bushes were touching both sides of their little Toyota pickup when a grizzly appeared next to mothers open window, she could have touched it, but it didn’t pay any attention to them at all as it swiped big paws full of brambles into its mouth to strip away the berries. Imagine the thorns and how it didn’t bother that grizzly a bit.
A private service was performed graveside at Dillinger Cemetery July 17th at 9:00 a.m.
The weather was beautiful but hot, there was a thunder and lightening directly over the cemetery later in the day as a summer storm rolled through.
So many trips to remember
Now she’s on another journey…
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Created with love by
Cecil Brown (Doris's son).
