Doris Carson Webb

Doris Carson Webb, 103 (and 9+ months) of McLean, Virginia, passed away peacefully in her sleep during the afternoon of May 9th, 2021, in her home of 60 years. Our beloved Mother was born July 17, 1917 in Logan, Iowa, in the home of her parents, Christopher N. Carson and Ella Hardy. She graduated from Logan High School and worked in an attorney’s office for several years while she and friends enjoyed going to dances in nearby Missouri Valley, Iowa, and Omaha, Nebraska, where big-band music was played. In 1939 she married Ernest Jones of Missouri Valley, an Air Force Officer and pilot who lost his life in the Philippines in February of 1945 when their son Terry, was only three months old. Later that year she married Richard L. Webb, from Ravenna, Ohio. Dick was an Officer in the Air Force and pilot, and the family lived in the states of Georgia, Ohio, and Virginia during his thirty-year AF career and until his death in 1985.

Both Mother and Dad were loyal long-time members of the Falls Church Presbyterian Church in Falls Church, Virginia. Perhaps one of the oldest and longest members ever, Mother served as a Deacon and was a member of the Chancel Choir for over 50 years. She was a Bell Ringer and played piano for the children’s choir and music programs. Mother participated with Meals-on-Wheels through FCPC and volunteered to drive church members to appointments when they needed assistance. Her favorite grace at mealtime was, “Bless this food to our use and us to Thy service, and make us ever mindful of the needs of others.” She exemplified this and taught her children as well.

Mother was an avid walker and is well-known in her neighborhood for her daily walks around her large block even at the age of 100. She played the piano daily and, when she started to lose her eyesight and ability to read music, memorized songs which enabled her to continue to play up until the last months of her life. She also worked crossword puzzles daily until her eyesight failed.

Seven years after Dad passed away in 1985, Mother attended a Reunion of the Army Air Corps 8th Combat Squadron Group which she and Dad had attended in the past. There she met Frank Pugliano, another squadron member and widower from Detroit. Frank and Doris maintained a long-distance but loving relationship, traveling together, visiting each other, and calling each other several times a day. They remained devoted to each other until his passing in 2016.

Perhaps most important things to remember about our mother is that she was a caring person, a woman of faith, and a wonderful friend to many. When people ask how she lived so long, she would answer, “Moderation in all things, walk every day and drink plenty of water.” She always tried her best to help others.

She is survived by her daughters Cynthia Seymour of McLean, Virginia, Leslie Leggio of Sacramento, California, son Terry (Sandy) Webb, and grandson Michael C. Webb of Clearwater, Florida. Also by niece Fran McDonald of Clinton, Iowa, nephew Dick (Karlyn) Carson, of Studio City, California, many Carson cousins in Iowa, and the Pugliano family. She was predeceased by husband Ernie Jones, husband Richard Webb, dear friend Frank Pugliano, her parents Christopher and Ella Carson, brothers Charles E., Homer (Kit), and Raymond Carson,nephew John W Carson and niece Catherine C. Sotzing.

We want to express our sincere appreciation and gratitude to Mother’s many caregivers from Independent You and VITAS Hospice nurses. Her caregivers spent hundreds of hours over the past several years talking with, praying with, and providing tender loving care to Mother. The hospice nurses walked us through her final days which ensured her peaceful passing. Mother will be buried with Dad at Arlington Cemetery later this year.

We ask that anyone interested in making a donation in Mother’s memory consider doing so to the Music Ministry of Falls Church Presbyterian Church (FCPC), 225 East Broad Street, Falls Church, Virginia 22046.

“And be ye kind one to another, tender-hearted, forgiving,

even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you.”

Ephesians 4:32 King James Version