Obituary of Doris Vaughan

VAUGHAN, Doris Catherine McPherson O'Malley - Dec. 22, 1916 - June 21, 2009. The remarkable Dorie has sung her last song and danced her last dance. Sunday evening June 21 just minutes after her closest family had left her side, Dorie made her exit. True to her character, she was stubborn and tenacious to the end. Although dealing with the return of a cancer concern, the real indicator of her oncoming death came just last week when her very, very special companion Debbie Etherington said †œDorie has lost her spunk†œ. We all knew what that meant. Dorie was born and raised in St. Catharines on Ravine Rd. She revered her mother Minnie, and suffered the loss of her father James, in a tragic vehicular accident when she was in her teens. Not long after she and her older brother Gordon lost their younger sibling Billy to tuberculosis. Dorie met and eloped with the dapper Jack O'Malley when she was just 18 and they welcomed a son a year later. While Jack's adventures took him in many directions, Dorie was the rock. She began her retail sales career at the Snappy Style Shop in the city and eventually helped clothe generations of the area's women at Wray's Ladies Wear on St.Paul St. for over 35 years. Her career change came after Jack had passed away and she married a lawyer William C. Vaughan from Niagara Falls, NY. Dorie worked with Bill and became heavily involved in the Western NY Legal Secretaries Assoc. as well as aiding Bill at the Buffalo Museum of Science. She embraced the Vaughan family as they embraced her and they will miss her greatly. Dorie had moved to Niagara-on-the-Lake in the early 60's and fell in with the †œactivist†œ crowd, particularly backing S.O.D.A. (Save Our Dock Area). For the last several years she has been happily ensconced at Chateau Gardens in Niagara, where a professional, compassionate and wonderful staff made her days happy ones, especially the aforementioned Debbie Etherington, who befriended Dorie in a most unique and kind way.Dorie leaves her son Terry (Barbara); her niece, the daughter she always wanted Dianne Thompson (Mait); her grandchildren Lauren O'Malley Norris (Dave) and Teig O'Malley (Jovanka) and sadly her great grandchild, 3 year old Hazel O'Malley Norris, to whom she was GG. The immediate family was with her just moments before she passed. We think she waited until we left the room. With respect to one of her favourite phrase †œlet's get this show on the road†œ ,family and friends will be received at the GEORGE DARTE FUNERAL HOME 585 Carlton St. St. Catharines (905) 937-4444 on Friday June 26, from 2:00 to 4:00 p.m. A Celebration of Dorie's Life will be held in the Chapel at 4 p.m. Hazel told us that GG's spirit would be making rainbows. Let's hope so. In lieu of flowers, wishes and prayers are most welcome. On-line Guest Book- www.dartefuneralhome.com