Dorris Johnson

Dorris Johnson, 86, Altus, passed away October 30, 2010 at English Village Manor in Altus, Oklahoma. A memorial service for Ms. Johnson will be held at Kincannon Funeral Home at 11:30 AM Saturday, November 6, 2010 with Rod Smith officiating. Dorris was born on April 13, 1924 in the Prairie Hill community. She and her family moved to Altus in 1928. She attended Altus High School and graduated in 1942. While a junior student, she appeared in the class play. In her senior year, she was class secretary and Student Council secretary. She was on the staff of the 1942 “The Altus Bulldog” yearbook. She attended Altus Junior College in 1943 and Oklahoma Baptist University in 1944. In 1945, she moved to Oklahoma City where she was the secretary in the Pathology Department of the Veterans Administration Hospital. In January 1947, she married J.D. Johnson, who was stationed aboard a U.S. Navy submarine in Honolulu, Hawaii. They lived there two years and then relocated to San Diego, California. In 1952, a career change took the family to Boston, Baltimore, St. Louis, and ultimately to Dallas in 1962. In Dallas, Dorris worked for the Dr. Pepper Company, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and Baylor Hospital. She returned to Altus in 2001, where she joined the First United Methodist Church and was a hospital volunteer for three years. She particularly enjoyed reading, playing bridge, and piano music. Dorris was preceded in death by her parents, Senator and Mrs. Burr Speck, three sisters, Mary Alice Darby, Lucille Speck and Mildred Ludrick Benson, a brother, Burton Speck, and a twin brother, Morris Speck. She is survived by a son, Mark Johnson and wife, Gail, of Kailua-Kona, Hawaii; a daughter, Jane Payne and husband, Paul, of Riverside, California; a sister, Sylvia Vessels of Oklahoma City; and many nieces and nephews. The family wishes to express their gratitude to JCMH Hospice and English Village Manor for their compassionate and professional care to Dorris.