Doris Taylor Doyle, cousin of my grandmother, Joan Harrison Graham, died this past March. She was 91. Doris was one of my earliest family history contacts outside of my immediate family, grandparents, and known cousins. She once sent my grandmother a set of photocopies of old family photographs, including one of David H. Kline surrounded by all of his daughters that was taken around the turn of the 20th Century. After my grandmother died in 2008, my Aunt Edwina, who happened to correspond with Doris frequently, put me in contact with the Virginian.
Doris and I spoke initially on the telephone, and later continued an e-mail correspondence that lasted from 2008 to 2013, after which we lost contact. In about 2010, Doris mailed me a physical packet of additional photo copies, including one of William P. Harrison, Jr., at work on a crane, and the best photo I have to date of my grandmother's grandmother, Cora May Kline Harrison. In some of our last e-mail communications I was able to put Doris in contact with another cousin, Bill, who is the son of Charles Harrison. The two were able to share memories of Doris's father, John Nestor Taylor, Jr.
Details of Doris's life may be found in her Legacy.com obituary. She was born and raised in Norfolk, Virginia, the daughter of John N. Taylor and Elizabeth Blanche Harrison. Doris married her husband, William Doyle, on March 29th, 1952. A photo of Doris in her wedding dress was published in the Norfolk Virginian-Pilot the following day. Doris and her husband were founders of the Virginia Beach KOA Campground. Had I known about that years ago, I surely would have made the trip. Camping is an integral part of most of my out-of-town genealogy adventures.
Doris spent her final years at Westminster-Canterbury on Chesapeake Bay, which was praised in the obituary for providing "attentive and loving care". She passed away on March 9, 2022. I will always remember Doris for the generous assistance she offered me in the early years of my genealogical journey, and for the genuine interest she expressed in my findings. My uncle, Robert Graham, recalled upon hearing news of her passing that "Doris was always really nice to us." ⬮
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