Doris Evelyn Hamilton Owen passed away at her home on Sunday, Dec. 15, 2024, at 94 years of age, in Weippe.
Doris Evelyn Hamilton was born, June 26, 1930, to Forest Roe Hamilton and Edna Bernice Wells Hamilton, in Weippe.
Doris’ grandfather, Robert Glen Hamilton, owned and operated the R.G. Hamilton and Company stores in Greer and Weippe, Idaho. Doris remembers all of the great fun times she and her brother Robert Eldon Hamilton had growing up in their grandparents’ house as kids.
Doris received her education through the Weippe schools, and when she was finished with school, she traveled to California to visit and stay with family. There she met Willis Thurman Owen and eventually they were married on July 7, 1956, in Eureka, Calif., then settled in Tiller, Ore.
Doris moved back to Weippe in 1970, with her husband, to be with her mother, Edna Hamilton, when her second, husband Louis Blended, passed away. After returning home, Doris enjoyed spending time with her mother; it did not matter if it was going shopping, volunteering at the Hilltop Senior Center, being members of the Clearwater Community Garden Club, or laughing and having a wonderful time in their own garden at home. Spending time and making memories with her mother meant everything to Doris and became more precious when her mother died in 1992.
Doris started working at Hutchins Saw Mill in 1974, as a knife grinder, for 26 years until her retirement in 2000. In 1974, Doris’ husband of 19 years passed away. A year later, Doris met Robert Thomas Needham and they remained life partners for 50 years until his passing on Oct. 30, 2023.
From 2000 to 2015, Doris was a great asset and dedicated volunteer for the Hilltop Heritage Museum where she donated her time, her energy and her family heritage to the museum and to the community. When she retired after 15 years, she was honored with a lifetime membership at the age of 85.
Doris was preceded in death by her father, mother, brother and life partner.
It was a privilege and honor to have known, loved and cared for this wonderful lady who now gets to spend all of her Christmases in heaven, with her family, in God’s loving embrace.
Doris will be cremated and her ashes will be buried in the Hamilton family plot in the Weippe Cemetery at a later date.
