Morden, Doris (Died)

June 9, 1929 -- October 18, 2024

Doris Morden has passed away at 95, after a long and full life, well-lived. Imagine everything she experienced from 1929 to present! She truly embraced the motto that hung on her wall: "laugh often, love much, live well". Doris loved to dress and be in style; she was elegant and graceful, and always looked like a million bucks. She believed in women's strength and equality, and passed that on to her children. Anyone who knew Doris can picture her big, beautiful smile, her curiosity, and interest in their lives.

Doris loved her family, and she is greatly missed by her children Sandra, Linda, Wayne (Alison Fooks), and Donna (Steve Bull), and her grandchildren Alexa Finlason-Bull (Will), Morgan Bull (Jake Tomlinson), Jaime Trainor, and Sam Trainor; as well as her beloved twin sister Doreen Parkes and the Parkes family; her brothers' McLay families; and our family on Terry's side, Guy Kellett. Doris was pre-deceased by her husband, Terry Morden, in 1986.

Doris came from a family of 6 (4 older brothers and her twin sister) who grew up in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan where their father worked for the railway. As kids, every summer, their mother Isabella (McGill) would take the girls on the train back to her family farm near Glanworth, Ontario. This instilled a connection that would eventually take the entire family back to the Woodstock/London area.

Doris met Terry in Woodstock, and that's where their children grew up. She and Terry enjoyed many friendships, especially through Craigowan Golf & Country Club. She was a wonderful Mom and homemaker, and made the best apple pie in the world (says Sandra!), not to mention oatmeal cookies fresh out of the oven for home-from-school lunches, and all of our family dinners together. She was creative and artistic. We remember coming home from school to the smell of oil paints, a beautiful sunny creation taking shape, and Mom splattered with all the colours of the rainbow.

Doris loved nature and the outdoors, and would take us to the local conservation areas to explore and be near the trees and water. She loved lakes and the beach, and every year we looked forward to a precious week's vacation at a lakefront cottage. Long Point (Lake Erie) in the summer was always on the weekend schedule. Mom would pack all four of us up, along with a big picnic lunch warmed by the sun, and we would play in the waves. We would make our way back home, picking up farm-fresh summer produce from roadside stands along the way.

When her kids were all independent enough, she began a successful career in real estate, getting to know many people in the community, listening, caring, and helping them with their needs.

Doris and Terry highly valued fitness and sports, and a university education, and supported us throughout at significant cost to themselves - we are very grateful. Doris wished the best for her children, and at some point she said to all of us: get out of town and find your futures! And we did. This meant we have scattered far and wide, with family members at various times in England, BC, Alberta, Toronto area, and eastern Ontario. This gave Mom lots of great places to visit and spend time with her kids and grandchildren, but made it harder in later years to be together as much as we would have liked to be, although we have always kept in close touch. Mom embraced our lifestyles and revelled in new experiences. For several summers she lived on Linda's 44-foot trawler on Vancouver Island to help with her grandchildren, and she enjoyed extended visits with her grandchildren in England (Donna and Steve) throughout the years.

Doris loved nature, sunshine and a clear blue sky, colourful flowers in bloom, the beach, a lakefront cottage, a cool swim, trees, sunsets, and sparkles on the water, all shared with her friends and family. In accordance with her wishes, we will have a family celebration of her life. Thank you to all who loved her.

We picture our beautiful, vibrant Doris striding off into the sparkles, not a cloud in the sky.

If you would like to consider a donation in her honour, please consider the Nature Conservancy of Canada https://natureconservancy.ca/en/