Doris Eleanor Thomas was born on June 13, 1910, to Washington “Watt” Thomas and Olive Rosalind Pitcher Thomas in Puyallup, Washington. She was the third of their four daughters and was a cut-up and instigator with her sisters, Joyce, Gladys and Ruby (the youngest). She was a tom-boy as a girl and was such a good baseball player that the boys nicknamed her “Babe Ruth”. She was a Daddy’s girl and her favorite thing to do was to keep her Dad company when he was logging. She helped her Dad take care of the two big horses that pulled his rig, Jake and Bill, and she adored them. She was definitely an animal lover.
Doris was a strong swimmer and played the saxophone when she was young. She had an 8th grade education, but that didn’t stop her from writing stories and novels and composing music under the penname of “Jade Greene”. One of her songs was even published. Doris had a beautiful soprano voice and was not afraid to sing out at Church. Her wonderful voice could be heard above all the rest. She was a talented whistler as well and whistled on the radio once. She and her sisters loved to jitterbug, and she would have won a local dance contest one time, except she couldn’t get down on the floor to do some of the moves because she’d had rheumatic fever as a child. Doris was also a clown – literally. She marched in parades, wearing a big, bright chartreuse shirt, baggy pants with big suspenders, and she entertained the crowds and was a joy to watch. She made a living selling greeting cards door to door, and she made many friends along the way.
Doris had a penchant for traveling. She went on a trip to Juneau, Alaska, and, while there, reached out and petted a huge pure white husky – that had never allowed any other woman to touch him ever before. Many times she got the urge to visit her family, would pack up the car and she’d drive straight through to Yelm, Washington, where her sister Joyce lived. We’d make the rounds, visiting her Dad and Ruby in Seattle and Gladys in Tacoma. She always drove through the Redwood Forest on those trips and stopped to see the huge statues of Paul Bunyan the lumberjack and Babe his big Blue Ox; then we’d drive right through one of the largest redwood trees. She drove cross-country to Ontario, Canada, to visit her Dad’s family there, and brought back Granddad’s brother, Allen, whom he hadn’t seen in more than 50 years. What a grand reunion that was! Doris’ grand finale was a trip through every state in the continental United States, crossing the border into Mexico so she could say she’d been there, and revisiting Ontario and many relatives we’d met there.
Doris' first husband was Harold Bashey. She married Lee Davis in 1930, and Donald, Richard, Phillip and Joyce came from that union. She next married Joseph Conklin and Olivetta was born. Then she met a sailor a couple years after the end of World War II and Rosella came along. Doris had a marvelous smile and beautiful green eyes. She once owned a café called the Chick Box and did the cooking herself. She later owned a bar-café called The Blue Room, but she never drank liquor and she never smoked. She was Christian Scientist until her conversion and baptism into The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints March 25, 1961. She was buried exactly ten months later in Vallejo, California, across from the auto movies she went to so often. She made sure Olivetta and Rosella would go to a good home, that of her oldest son Don and his wife Beverly and their daughters. She died of cervical cancer at age 51. She could out laugh the boisterous Laughing Sal at Playland At The Beach in San Francisco; she was a marvelous cook and made the best fudge you’ve ever tasted. Doris Eleanor Thomas was a woman of many talents and was truly wonderful.
Doris was a strong swimmer and played the saxophone when she was young. She had an 8th grade education, but that didn’t stop her from writing stories and novels and composing music under the penname of “Jade Greene”. One of her songs was even published. Doris had a beautiful soprano voice and was not afraid to sing out at Church. Her wonderful voice could be heard above all the rest. She was a talented whistler as well and whistled on the radio once. She and her sisters loved to jitterbug, and she would have won a local dance contest one time, except she couldn’t get down on the floor to do some of the moves because she’d had rheumatic fever as a child. Doris was also a clown – literally. She marched in parades, wearing a big, bright chartreuse shirt, baggy pants with big suspenders, and she entertained the crowds and was a joy to watch. She made a living selling greeting cards door to door, and she made many friends along the way.
Doris had a penchant for traveling. She went on a trip to Juneau, Alaska, and, while there, reached out and petted a huge pure white husky – that had never allowed any other woman to touch him ever before. Many times she got the urge to visit her family, would pack up the car and she’d drive straight through to Yelm, Washington, where her sister Joyce lived. We’d make the rounds, visiting her Dad and Ruby in Seattle and Gladys in Tacoma. She always drove through the Redwood Forest on those trips and stopped to see the huge statues of Paul Bunyan the lumberjack and Babe his big Blue Ox; then we’d drive right through one of the largest redwood trees. She drove cross-country to Ontario, Canada, to visit her Dad’s family there, and brought back Granddad’s brother, Allen, whom he hadn’t seen in more than 50 years. What a grand reunion that was! Doris’ grand finale was a trip through every state in the continental United States, crossing the border into Mexico so she could say she’d been there, and revisiting Ontario and many relatives we’d met there.
Doris' first husband was Harold Bashey. She married Lee Davis in 1930, and Donald, Richard, Phillip and Joyce came from that union. She next married Joseph Conklin and Olivetta was born. Then she met a sailor a couple years after the end of World War II and Rosella came along. Doris had a marvelous smile and beautiful green eyes. She once owned a café called the Chick Box and did the cooking herself. She later owned a bar-café called The Blue Room, but she never drank liquor and she never smoked. She was Christian Scientist until her conversion and baptism into The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints March 25, 1961. She was buried exactly ten months later in Vallejo, California, across from the auto movies she went to so often. She made sure Olivetta and Rosella would go to a good home, that of her oldest son Don and his wife Beverly and their daughters. She died of cervical cancer at age 51. She could out laugh the boisterous Laughing Sal at Playland At The Beach in San Francisco; she was a marvelous cook and made the best fudge you’ve ever tasted. Doris Eleanor Thomas was a woman of many talents and was truly wonderful.
This part is by Olivetta: August 3, 2009, I drove from Concord to Fairfield to find some information at the County Seat taking me from Family Law Calendar Clerk to Vital Records across the street. A clerk there copied a document and said it was of a husband of Doris. The document stated she married George Thomas Bachelor of North Hollywood, age 47, and her age was 42. The file date was 2 December 1952, a month after my sixth birthday. I have no personal recollection of this marriage and the length of it is unknown as well. I was very surprised to learn of this unknown union. Additionally, the family is in possession of four published songs written under the pen name of Jade Greene, circa 1946. Her son Richard recalls another called We'll Win the War in '44 but there's no proof, also Joy says she wrote one about a handsome man. He is in possession of one of her stories which I thought was ruined and thrown out after her death. He told me Rose's father owned a '46 Chevy.
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