Cover photo for Doris Athleen Garner's Obituary
Doris Athleen Garner Profile Photo
1927 Doris 2018

Doris Athleen Garner

January 16, 1927 — December 25, 2018

Doris Athleen Garner, born January 16, 1927, passed away peacefully on December 25, 2018. Doris was preceded in death by her parents, Napoleon and Bessie Radford, by her brothers, Eric, Knox and Clark Radford, by her sisters, Jewell Woodruff and Audra Burdette, and by her husband Raymond Garner and daughter, Brenda Caudill. She is survived by her five children, Larry, Becky, Bruce, Robert and JoAnn, and her sister, Dorothy West.
Doris had a remarkable life. She was born and raised in the mountains in Coker Creek, Tennessee. Her father was a veteran of World War I and her mother was the head of the family, spending all of her energy raising seven children. When Doris graduated from high school, she headed out on her own and joined thousands of workers on the Manhattan Project in Oak Ridge, helping to make the atomic bombs that helped end the war in the Pacific.
After the war, Doris again struck out on her own and joined thousands of other people in traveling north to find employment. Doris went to Dayton, Ohio, where she met her future husband, Raymond Garner. After getting married, they started a family. While Ray worked at Frigidaire in North Dayton, Doris took care of the household. They didn’t have much money at first, but they worked hard and kept the kids fed and warm.
Doris and Ray raised six children in a very loving and church-centered environment. Ray eventually left his job at Frigidaire to start his own business in refrigeration, heating and air conditioning. Doris, in addition to running the house and being the primary care-giver for the children, also kept the books and helped run Ray’s growing business.
Doris and Ray later moved to Cleveland, Tennessee. Ray joined his eldest son’s refrigeration business and Doris finished raising the youngest children in the family. No matter where they lived, they always found a Church of God church to attend. When Ray passed away March 3, 1995, Doris was devastated. However, Doris decided that Ray’s passing was not going to be the last chapter of her life.
Doris remained active in the church and made many friends, including some who liked to play music. She joined a group, Herb Arp and Friends, and they began to sing gospel songs together in church. Then they started singing those songs in local nursing homes in Cleveland, and before long, they were traveling around southeast Tennessee and North Georgia, singing to hundreds of people in nursing homes, assisted living facilities and occasionally even at a Bojangles, bringing smiles wherever they performed. Doris was often greeted with a round of applause when she arrived at her singing engagement. They loved her songs and she loved singing to them. It kept Doris young and gave her a new purpose in life. Recently, she told her kids that the last ten years had been the happiest years of her life.
Doris lived a very full life and touched the lives of many people in a very positive way. She was a remarkable woman who set a high standard for her children to follow.

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Service Schedule

Past Services

Visitation

Friday, December 28, 2018

10:00am - 12:00 pm (Central time)

Companion Funeral & Cremation Service - Cleveland Chapel

2415 Georgetown Road Northwest, Cleveland, TN 37311

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Service

Friday, December 28, 2018

Starts at 12:00 pm (Central time)

Companion Funeral & Cremation Service - Cleveland Chapel

2415 Georgetown Road Northwest, Cleveland, TN 37311

Enter your phone number above to have directions sent via text. Standard text messaging rates apply.

Burial

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