Doris Ann Schmitz was born in Celina, Ohio on September 23, 1948 to Norbert (Curly) and Cordula (Lefty) Schmitz, the second oldest of ten children. She attended grade school and high school in Mercer County, with a short detour at a Catholic convent in Salem Heights in 1962-1963. After about a year, she decided she no longer wanted to continue on the path of becoming a nun and eventually chose instead to become a nurse.
In 1966, she enrolled in the nursing school at Good Samaritan Hospital in Dayton, Ohio and graduated as a Registered Nurse in the spring of 1969. After graduation, Doris worked at Good Samaritan for about a year and then for about nine years at a physician’s office, also in Dayton. During this time she traveled around the U.S. in a Volkswagen bus with her oldest sister, Diana.
Her adventurous spirit next took her to Denver, where she and her friend Betty Hemmelgarn moved in 1976. In January 1978, Betty introduced Doris to a colleague at work, Dave Downs. That June Doris left for a long-planned five-month backpacking trip through Europe with a younger sister, Mary. Soon after she returned from Europe, Doris and Dave decided to get married, and did so in March 1979. Both their children, Sarah and Seth, were born in Denver.
In 1989, their family of four moved from Englewood, Colorado to Highland Village, Texas. There, Doris continued her work, this time as a school nurse. She later switched to work as an assistant in the special education classroom. After retiring from working in the public schools, she donated her time to several different volunteer positions. Doris and Dave continued to live in Highland Village until her death on May 10, 2021.
Those who knew her best would describe her as a funny, compassionate, kind person who loved to travel, garden, seek adventure, read novels, solve word puzzles, read the Sunday comics, cook fabulous meals, and spend as much time as possible with her friends and family. She especially enjoyed time with Sarah and Michael’s children, Olivia, Adrian, and Carson, Seth and Molly’s children, Coen and Finley, and with Madison, Kylie, and Shelby, whom she informally adopted and considered to be her grandchildren as well.
Doris touched many hearts and souls, more than she ever realized. She was greatly loved and will be missed by all of us who had the incredibly good fortune to be a part of her life.
If you wish to send flowers in honor of Mrs. Downs please contact Lilium Floral Design at 817-589-1566 or http://www.liliumflorals.com
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