Obituary of Doris Somers

Doris Lorene Steele was born in Hartford, Arkansas in 1921. She was one of four children: Clyde, Doris, Ruth, and Herman. Her father died in a hunting accident when she was nine, leaving her mother, Willie, a widow with four children in depression-era Arkansas. The hard economics of scarcity had a lasting impact on Doris, as it did on many of her generation. At the end of her life she still tore tissues and napkins in half because "I don't need all that and don't want to waste." While very careful with her money, she could also be generous toward her friends and family. She was complex and, at times, a paradox. Doris attended Sparks School of Nursing in Fort Smith from 1939-1942 and earned a diploma as a registered nurse. She did part of her training at Charity Hospital in New Orleans. Smart and hardworking, her transcript shows mainly "A's" and it was said that she graduated at the top (or near the top) on her state nursing boards. She later earned an Associate of Arts degree at Tulsa Junior College in 1978 (the whole family graduated that year - her son with an M.A., her daughter Karen with a BA in Education, and daughter Cheryl with a BS in nursing, Cheryl's husband Stan with an M.A.and all four graduating together from the University of Kansas, with Doris receiving her A.A. degree one week later. Doris used the GI Bill to complete her degree. Doris joined the Navy upon graduating from Nursing School. World War II was in progress. She met her future husband in Berkeley, California. The family story goes that he hurt his back playing softball (his version states that he was sliding into home plate). Doris was his hospital nurse. They married in Reno, Nevada, in 1947. Lester Irvin Somers, her husband, was a Navy chaplain with degrees from Elon College in North Carolina and Lancaster Theological Seminary in Pennsylvania. The latter was a seminary of the Evangelical and Reformed Church, which he joined as a teenager, and in which he was ordained to the ministry. Later he attended Pacific School of Religion in Berkeley, California, then resumed his regular duties in the Navy Chaplain Corps, doing so until his death in a plane crash at sea north of Okinawa in 1970. He was a chaplain at Atsugi Naval Air Station in Japan at the time of his death. Doris's son David was born in Oakland, California. Karen was born on Adak Island, Alaska, in 1955. Cheryl was born in 1956 in Brunswick, Georgia. The family moved every one to three years. Doris' husband was often aboard Navy ships at sea. At other times, he was a chaplain stationed at various bases. Chaplain Somers was an extrovert. He enjoyed people. He was jovial and loved to tease. Doris was more reserved. She served in various capacities as a Navy Chaplain's wife because her husband wanted her to do so. There is a picture of her receiving recognition for serving 600 hours in the Navy Relief Society. Chaplain Somers and his family were stationed for three years at Atsugi Naval Air Station in Japan. In April 1970, he and ten others died when their Navy plane crashed at sea north of Okinawa. Doris returned to the United States upon her husband's death. After she and her children had visited relatives in North Carolina, Alabama and Arkansas, they settled in Tulsa, where her brother, Herman Steele, lived. David remained for 8 months before returning to Japan to continue his university studies. Doris took a nursing refresher course, worked at St. Francis Hospital, and then became an RN at Skyline Terrace Nursing Home, where she worked for 26 years. She was a conscientious, compassionate nurse. She encouraged her children to go to college and live wherever they wanted. Like the old adage, she gave roots and wings. She never interfered in her children's decisions, but they knew she was there to help, hold, and support them. Doris got into the stock market in the late 70's and early 80's. She loved reading the Wall Street Journal and watching the business news on television. By the nineties, she was doing very complicated stock transactions. Her stock broker of many years, Bill Wolfe, has said that of his 150 or so clients, there were only one or two others who were capable of doing the kinds of trades and transactions that she did. She did careful research, followed a strategy in her trading, and was right about 85 percent of the time. She continued to enjoy stock trading until 2009. Doris loved her home in Tulsa and wanted to stay in it for the rest of her life. She enjoyed working in the yard and was obsessed about getting all the dandelions out of her yard (and even those of her neighbors) and raking up all the leaves. She enjoyed traveling to see her children and grandchildren in Japan and in the U.S. She loved feeding and watching the birds in her back yard. She especially liked to save them the crust from her daily breakfast of eggs, bacon, and toast. She also loved steak, which came from growing up during the depression and eating so many beans and very little meat. She was a very good seamstress, and her daughters often brought their mending and hemming for her to do, trusting her to get the length just right. Doris was a character, increasingly so as she grew older and lived by herself. Family and friends always described her as "sweet." She never wanted to be a "bother" to her children. Her daughter Karen retired from teaching in August to see her through her chemotherapy and radiation treatments. Despite all the treatments, Doris rarely complained. She was proud of her three children and her grandchildren. She wanted the best for all. Doris is survived by her three children, David Somers (Kiyomi), Karen Stephenson (Rodney), and Cheryl Somers-Ingersol (Stan); grandchildren, Holly Somers Schultz, Rebecca Somers, Marissa Stephenson, Michael Stephenson, Rachel Ingersol and Robert Ingersol; sister, Ruth Griffin; sister-in-law, Ruthie Steele; and nieces and nephews, Lawanna Steele Bell, Tina Pracht, Jimmy Steele, Jerry Steele, Nancy O'Neal, and Louise Ingram. Doris will lie in state 10:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Tuesday at the Ninde Brookside Funeral Home Chapel with her funeral being held 2:00 p.m. Wednesday at the Memorial Park Cemetery Chapel. Ninde Brookside 918.742.5556 www.ninde.com