Doris Ann Huckaby

Doris was born to John Raymond and Thelma Irene Vansant in Ringgold, Georgia, on July 11, 1928. She was the second of four children, older brother Clyde and younger sisters Margaret and Carol. She graduated from Douglas County High School where she was a forward for the women’s basketball team (she could, into her 60s, outshoot and outrebound her grandchildren). She worked at Life of Georgia until she met the love of her life, a World War II veteran, James Huckaby at O’Neal’s drug store in Douglasville. They were married August 31, 1947.

To those who knew them, they were a unit: Doris and Jim. And their adventure together would last almost 74 years.

Doris and Jim moved to Atlanta, where he attended Georgia Tech on the GI bill. He got a degree in electrical engineering, and they had their first child living on North Avenue. Jimmy was born in 1948. Jim started his career at IBM and soon they were on the move, from Columbus to Charleston to Raleigh and New Orleans, before ending up in Atlanta. Along the way, they made friends, memories and most important, had their four girls – Jane, Debbie, Bonnie and Sandra.

Once in Sandy Springs, Doris and Jim settled into an active social life, centered around their family, friends, and church (Sandy Springs United Methodist). Doris joined Jim on IBM trips that took them across the country and world, a lifetime of memories. Doris and Jim were inveterate bridge players, a team at the card table and in life.

Doris was a gifted cook, whose feasts were adored by family, friends and her sons-in-law, but especially her grandchildren (her children called her Mother, but to her grandkids, she was always Doris). They loved spending time with her and she, in turn, gave them her most precious gift – her undivided attention. For them, spending the night at Doris and Jim’s was a treat only matched by spending their days with her.

Holidays were always a festive time and their home in Sandy Springs, later in East Cobb, was always full, with tables spilling into several rooms as the family grew. For their friends, her New Years Day party was an annual highlight.

Doris had a hundred recipes in her head, from casseroles to barbeques and of course fried chicken, each of them delicious. But she never revealed the most prized one, for her chocolate cake.

Doris and Jim had one final move, to the Towers in Sandy Springs, where they reunited with many old friends and of course made new ones, because that is what they did. From her balcony, Doris kept an eye on all the doings in Sandy Springs. For as long as she could, Doris did her Sudoku and liked to visit with her family and friends. It was not the same after she lost Jim; it never could be. But she had a family grateful to return the love she lavished on them over her lifetime.

Doris was preceded in death by her husband, James Cicero Huckaby, Sr., and her son, James Cicero Huckaby, Jr., along with her brother, Clyde Milton Vansant.

She is survived by daughters, Jane Huckaby, Deborah Ann Huckaby Parry and husband, David Reese Parry, Bonnie Louise Huckaby Colberg and husband, Thorsen Richard Colberg, and Sandra Kay Huckaby and husband, Mark Henry Schuster. Also surviving are 14 grandchildren and 23 great-grandchildren, and her sisters, Margaret Tidwell and Carol Ellis

It is to those grandchildren and great-grandchildren that Doris has bequeathed her most precious gift – a DNA of kindness, gratitude and good humor:

James Cicero Huckaby, III; Elizabeth Huckaby Hill (Andrew Hill): Harper Ray; Miles Hill. Ann Aleese Turner: Aleese Turner; and Asher Turner. Mary McKenzie Huckaby

Thomas Steven Papevies, Jr.: Israel Brooke Papevies; Joshua Quinn Papevies; Bella Grace Papevies; Sophia Rayne Papevies; and Olivia Skye Papevies. Christy Parry (Martin Rysavy): Alice Reese Rysavy and Lucie Ann Rysavy. Robert David Parry

Erica Jane Colberg Walsh (Timothy James Robert Walsh): Catherine Jane Walsh; Timothy James Walsh; and Robert Thorsen Walsh. Thorsen Farnham Colberg (Heather Michelle Harmon Colberg):Gage Thorsen Colberg; Brock Gatling Colberg; Ella Corrine Colberg and Thor Morris Colberg. Brandon Leif Colberg (Ellen Monroe Colberg); Makayla Monroe Colberg; Nora Madison Colberg and Leif James Colberg. Vladimir Kovach Colberg (Meaghan Jennifer Johnson Colberg): Edison Kovach Colberg.

Henry Benjamin Schuster; Michael Vansant Schuster; and Eli Mikhail Schuster.

In lieu of flowers, please consider donating to a children’s charity of your choice.