Doris Coble, 98, passed away on March 29, 2022, in Centralia, Washington. She was born on June 28, 1923 in Spokane, Washington to Thurlow and Mellie Williams.
Doris grew up in Spokane and graduated from John Rogers High School in 1941. She attended the University of Washington in Seattle where she graduated in 1947. Doris started her teaching career in Rathdrum, Idaho, where she met and married James Coble in 1948. They were happily married for over 50 years when James passed in 1998 at the age of 85. Doris started playing the piano when she was 9 years old and continued to enjoy her music throughout her life.
She was skilled at sewing, clothing her four children as they were growing up. She was a master knitter, and until her death, was concerned about the yarn that was waiting for a project.
Doris loved reading, especially the classics and historical fiction about the English aristocracy. She enrolled in a Centralia College class while in her 70s and traveled with other students to England to expand her knowledge of Shakespeare.
Doris loved art, especially sculpture. One of her greatest experiences was traveling to Italy and France with Glenda, for a three-week lesson in the Masters. Doris taught school in Southwest Washington (Naselle, Boistfort, and Packwood) before moving to Onalaska in 1966, where she immersed herself in both teaching and organizations that support learning. After she retired, she was active in the Washington State School Retirees Association, the Onalaska Retired Teachers Group and the Lewis County Retired Teachers Association where she was active on many state and local boards as well as serving as both vice president and president. She was a long standing member of Delta Kappa Gamma. Her greatest passion being education, Doris was a charter member of the Onalaska Scholarship Committee. She served until just a few years before her death and took pride in the work of the committee that supported the fund for scholarships to graduates of Onalaska High School. She kept track of the progress of those graduates throughout the years.
Doris was preceded in death by her husband James Coble, her parents Thurlow and Mellie Williams, her sister Eileen Broomell, brother Stanley Williams, and her grandson Jeremy Guenther. Doris leaves behind her four children, Elizabeth Jane Koura (Scott), Glenda Smith (Alan), Barbara Guenther (John) and Jeff Coble (Cheryl). She has seven grandchildren, eight great-grandchildren, and her final legacy, Addison Guenther, her great-great-grandchild.
The family would like to extend a special thank you to all of the staff at Sharon Care for such incredible care over the years. In lieu of flowers, please consider making a donation in Doris’ name to the Onalaska Scholarship Fund, P.O. Box 194, Onalaska, Washington, 98570. A service will be held at Sticklin Funeral Chapel on Monday, April 11, at noon.
We will all miss her interest, support and love.
