Doris Stofer

Doris Genevieve Lind Stofer passed from this life peacefully on February 20, 2025, at the age of ninety-nine, at her home in Dallas, Texas.  She was an only child born to Swedish parents on December 30, 1925, in Akron, Ohio.  Little more than a decade prior to her birth her mother, then only seventeen years old, arrived safely at Ellis Island New York after passing through the ice fields of the North Atlantic on the night of April 14, 1912 - just ahead of the Titanic.

In 1936, at ten years old, Doris lost her father to Tuberculosis.  Fortunately, her widowed mother found work during the Great Depression as the resident housekeeper of the President and CEO of the Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company, Paul Litchfield in Akron. When recounting her years with the Litchfield’s, Doris would say, “…that’s where I learned about the ‘finer things’ in life and the importance of manners.”   She also would tell the story of that Sunday afternoon in Akron ice-skating with friends at age sixteen when the news of the attack on Pearl Harbor was announced on December 7, 1941.

In 1947, she married Richard Knight Stofer, a US Navy veteran and selflessly devoted herself to being a wife and mother.  Her first two boys, Richard and John, were born in Akron. Her husband’s business opportunities prompted the relocation of her young family to far away Dallas, Texas in 1953.  She had two more sons in Dallas: Mike and Jim.

The family flourished during the 1950’s, 60’s, and 70’s.  Always ready for an exciting opportunity or event, Doris and five-year-old Jim joined the crowd at Dallas Love Field to greet the President and Mrs. Kennedy on their arrival Friday November 22, 1963. Doris’s second son, John, was on the Presidential parade route that day with friends. In the 1960’s the family took road trips and often enjoyed Sunday drives together, stopping for donuts or lunch, and in the 1970’s spending many weekends on their boat at Lake Texhoma.

Doris and her husband retired to Hot Springs Village Arkansas in 1980 where she discovered an enduring love for golf, refined her oil painting skills, and learned to play cards (especially Canasta and Bridge). The gregarious couple made many friends and organized occasions to socialize hosting annual Super Bowl parties at area restaurants.

What seemed to bring Doris the greatest joy were the simple times spent listening and laughing wholeheartedly in conversations with her ‘always-entertaining’ boys.

While living in Hot Springs, she and her husband developed a subdivision called Eastgate II. Eastgate was in close proximity to the Hot Springs Country Club where Doris served as the Women’s Golf President for several years. She also served on the Alliance Bank Board of Trustees, Community Trust Advisory Board, Arkansas Bank and Trust Advisory Board, The Hot Springs Historical Society, and a member of The First United Methodist Church.

Her husband Richard passed away at age sixty-seven in 1994. That year a private membership country club called Diamante was under construction in Hot Springs Village, and it was there Doris made her new home for the next twelve years. She served two consecutive terms as the first Diamante Women’s Golf Association President and on the Diamante Club Advisory Board.  She was instrumental in getting the ladies’ golf groups to play reciprocally at the Hot Springs Country Club and the Chenal Country Club in Little Rock.

Doris appreciated the beauty of Arkansas’ scenic landscapes, clear lakes, golf courses, and the mild winters of the mid-south United States.  She often mused that she never missed the cold and snowy winters of Ohio. She was at home with the smaller-community lifestyles of Hot Springs and Hot Springs Village which provided many happy years with friends (her son Mike and his wife Deedra also lived there), but she thrived in the vibrancy and amenities of the larger Texas cities.  She moved from time to time when she grew restless, and she loved decorating each new place. Making new friends came very easily to her.

In 2007 Doris relocated to the Houston area where her son John lived, then lastly, back to Dallas where she had many friends. She lived the remainder of her long life independently near her sons Richard and Jim. She reluctantly had to quit driving at age ninety-six; however, she was very fortunate to have loving sons nearby to visit her routinely and attend to her wants and needs.  Her love of life, spirit of adventure, resilience and adaptability, and her independence contributed significantly to her longevity.

Doris is survived by three children John Stofer and wife Helie, Mike Stofer and wife Deedra, and Jim Stofer and wife Andrea, nine grandchildren and five great-grandchildren. Doris’s firstborn son Richard passed in 2024. Richard’s wife, Gail, was with Doris at the end.

A private family memorial service is planned.

In lieu of flowers, the family suggests memorials to: Operation Kindness, 3201 Earhart Drive, Carrollton, TX 75006.