Mom went home to be with the Lord and Dad on Wednesday, Sept. 25, 2024. She was 97. She was born May 10, 1927, in Coquille, Ore., and named Virginia Lee by her parents, Clancy “Bun” Doty and Nora “Evelyn” Lindstrom Doty. Grandpa worked in the woods, so the family moved around a lot. Mom spent her early years in the Pierce area and moved to Asotin for high school. After graduating in 1945, she held wartime jobs, first at Lewiston Tent and Awning making ammo belts, and later as a foreman at Portland (Oregon) Shipyard building liberty ships.
After the war, Mom moved back to the Lewiston-Clarkston Valley and worked at Pacific Northwest Bell as a telephone operator. She later became a dental assistant so she wouldn’t have to work nights. She married her high school sweetheart, Jack Delwin Barkley, on Sept. 26, 1948, at the Congregational Presbyterian Church in Lewiston. The newlyweds moved to the Barkley family farm on the Anatone Flat and lived there raising wheat, cattle, chickens and kids until they retired. After retirement, they moved to Asotin and spent every winter in Yuma, Ariz., with friends.
Mom was active in their church, the Pollyettes, Eastern Star and other community activities. She loved canning, cooking and especially sewing. She and Dad had three children: Ben Barkley (Marcia), Chris Turner (Bob) and Laura Harlin (Pete); seven grandchildren: Malisa, Isaac, Joy, Alex, Andy, Allison and Rob; and 15 great-grandchildren. The grandkids and great-grandkids all knew her as “Grandma Cookie” because she always had fresh baked cookies for them when they visited.
Mom was preceded in death by her parents, our dad and her two brothers, Jack Doty and Roy Doty. The Barkley family will be hosting a celebration of life at 11 a.m. Saturday, Nov. 16, at the Asotin Lions Hall, 118 Second St., Asotin. Please join us to share your memories of her. Memorial donations may be mailed to the Asotin County Museum, 215 Filmore St., Asotin, WA 99402.
