[Colorado-Talk] Doris Willoughby obituary and service details

[Amy Sabo]

hello mary ann and all,

first of all thank you for posting the obituarty of doris here to the
list. i had read it on newsline on wednesday whicjh it was published
in wednesday's denver post. it was very well written and, i didn't
knowall about doris after reading this obit. i knew more of her after
reading it. i hope that she will be remembered here in the nfb and the
nfb of co too!


hugs,
amy sabo

On 9/16/21, Maryann Migliorelli via Colorado-Talk
<colorado-talk at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> Greetings Federation family and friends,
>
> Curtis Willoughby gave me permission to distribute this information about
> Doris Willoughby's obituary and service details.
>
> Attached and following is the obituary, and below it is the Zoom invitation
> for the Celebration of Life service.
>
>
>
> Doris Willoughby
>
> Doris Mellott Koerner Willoughby was born on June 29, 1936, in Easton, PA,
> and died on
>
> September 8, 2021, in Lakewood, CO. She moved to Boulder, CO, with her
> family when she was
>
> 11 and graduated from Boulder High School as class valedictorian in 1953.
> She earned a
>
> bachelor's degree in education from Grinnell College in Grinnell, IA, in
> 1957 and taught second
>
> grade in Cedar Rapids for 11 years. She met her husband D. Curtis
> Willoughby
> in 1966. They
>
> were married on June 24, 1967, in Cedar Rapids, IA, and honeymooned in
> Clear
> Lake, IA, Los
>
> Angeles, and Hawaii. The event in Los Angeles was the national convention
> of
> the National
>
> Federation of the Blind, the first of over fifty NFB conventions for Doris.
>
>
> From the time they met, Doris became a driver and reader assistant for
> Curtis. Since he was an
>
> electrical engineer, perhaps the first blind electrical engineer in the
> country, and most of the
>
> material he wanted to read was technical, Doris's assistance was extremely
> valuable.
>
> During the school year 1966/7, Judy Young, a young blind woman, was seeking
> a degree in
>
> elementary education from the State University of Iowa, but the University
> had difficulty finding
>
> a place for her to do her student teaching. Doris volunteered to be the
> supervising teacher and
>
> enjoyed the opportunity to work with Judy. Together they found techniques
> to
> make Judy an
>
> excellent teacher. Doris received her certification in the teaching of
> blind
> children in 1969 after
>
> studying during the summers and evenings and then began teaching blind
> children.
>
> The Willoughbys moved to Des Moines in 1972, and Doris taught blind
> children
> there until
>
> 1993. Curtis was often asked to work on electrical and telephone equipment
> at the Iowa
>
> Commission for the Blind, and Doris often assisted. Shortly after they were
> married, she said
>
> with a smile, "I married an electric wire."
>
> In 1990, she received her ham radio operator's license. Her husband, mother
> and sisters have all
>
> been hams. Doris continued to work with Curtis on many projects for nearly
> 30 years.
>
> Doris was an active member of the United Methodist Church and invited
> Curtis
> to join. They
>
> continued in this denomination in Des Moines and in Colorado.
>
> The Willoughbys moved to the Denver area in 1993, and Doris received a
> master's degree from
>
> the University of Northern Colorado soon after that. Doris taught blind
> children in the Adams 12
>
> School District near Denver. She later taught blind adults at the Colorado
> Training Center for
>
> the Blind, where she helped students prepare for citizenship and the GED
> test, among other
>
> things.
>
> Doris was a pioneer and leader in the education of blind children for at
> least 4 decades and wrote
>
> or co-authored 4 books on that subject. At its 50th anniversary convention,
> the National
>
> Federation of the Blind honored Doris with its highest award in education:
> the Distinguished
>
> Teacher of Blind Children Award.
>
> Doris was soft-spoken, kind, generous, creative, and hardworking. She was
> preceded in death by
>
> her parents Margaret and Harold Koerner. She is survived by her husband and
> her sisters
>
> (Margery Herrington of Pueblo, CO, and Marian Lord of Omaha, NE). There are
> 6 nephews and
>
> nieces and 9 great nephews and nieces.
>
> Doris was an important part of the Willoughby and Koerner families, her
> church congregations,
>
> the NFB, and her communities and will be missed by all. A celebration of
> Doris's life will occur
>
> at 1:00 pm on Sept. 18, 2021, at the Wheatridge United Methodist Church in
> Wheatridge, CO.
>
> Memorial donations may be made to the National Federation of the Blind or
> the Wheat Ridge
>
> United Methodist Church.
>
>
>
>
>
> WheatRidge UMC is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.
>
>
>
> Topic: Doris Willoughby Service
>
> Time: Sep 18, 2021 12:30 PM Mountain Time (US and Canada) Service begins:
> Sep 18, 2021 1:00 PM Mountain Time (US and Canada)
>
>
>
> Join Zoom Meeting
>
> https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87027962218?pwd=3DOG5IYmpGQ1J0aUxVUTF5dDhkNWs4dz09
>
>
>
> Meeting ID: 870 2796 2218
>
> Passcode: 582683
>
> One tap mobile
>
> +16699006833,,87027962218#,,,,*582683# US (San Jose)
>
> +12532158782,,87027962218#,,,,*582683# US (Tacoma)
>
>
>
> Dial by your location
>
> +1 669 900 6833 US (San Jose)
>
> +1 253 215 8782 US (Tacoma)
>
> +1 346 248 7799 US (Houston)
>
> +1 929 205 6099 US (New York)
>
> +1 301 715 8592 US (Washington DC)
>
> +1 312 626 6799 US (Chicago)
>
> +1 720 707 2699 US (Denver)
>
> Meeting ID: 870 2796 2218
>
> Passcode: 582683
>
> Find your local number: https://us02web.zoom.us/u/kiw675spZ
>
>
>
> At your service,
>
>
>
> Maryann Migliorelli
>
>
>
>