Doris Schussler
Jan. 4, 1923-May 22, 2017
MISSOULA, Mont. –
Doris Ann Schussler, 94,
passed away suddenly
Monday, May 22, 2017 at
St. Patrick Hospital sur-
rounded by her loving
family. “Grandma Apple”
died in much the same
way she lived; with grace
and dignity and at peace
with the world.
Doris was born January
4, 1923 in Minot, North
Dakota to Gustavius and
Gunda Christiansen. She
was raised in Minot and
she worked as a telephone
operator and operator su-
pervisor during WWII; a
job that required her to
wear roller-skates as she
moved from operator to
operator assisting and
answering questions. In
1946 she married Arnold
Herman Schussler, a
strapping Marine freshly
home from the war in the
Pacific. They eloped and
were married in Sydney,
Montana. The marriage
got off to a slow start
when she was misdiag-
nosed with tuberculous
and required to spend a
year in the infamous San
Haven Sanitarium (it was
later determined that she
never actually had the
disease). When Arnold
died in 1975 she moved to
Missoula in an attempt to
heal her broken heart. She
never remarried or dated
and when asked about
this stated that she loved
her husband and would
remain ever faithful.
Doris was loved and re-
vered by her many chil-
dren, grandchildren,
great-grandchildren, and
great-great-grandchildren.
She was active in her
church and the Ladies
Auxiliary of the Veterans
of Foreign Wars up until
the time she became too
frail to participate. She
loved all of God’s
creatures and was particu-larly fond of dogs.
As the years went by
and her family blossomed
she became the focal
point of family gatherings
and her wisdom was high-
ly valued by all. Her kind-
ness and empathy were
renown and she had a po-
sitive impact on everyone
she came in contact with.
She will be sorely missed
but never forgotten.
She was preceded in
death by: her father Gus-
tavius, her mother Gunda,
her brother Melvin, and
her sisters Grace, Helen,
and Orpha, her children
David and Beverly, and
her great grandson JT.
She is survived by: her
daughters Barbara (Jim)
and Joan, her sons Tho-
mas (Kelly), James, and
Robert, Her grand-
daughters Krista (Guy),
Heidi (Daniel), Anneke
(Dave), Jessica (Joey),
Angela, Mary (Jonathan),
and Amanda, and grand-
sons Joseph (Sarah), Tom-
my (Kim), and Charles
and great-granddaughters
Ashley (Cody), Sydney,
Jezalyn, Jadyn, Kimmy,
Natalie, Cherish, Lilliann,
and Laila, and
great-grandsons Garrison,
Avery, Brett, Jacob, Josh,
David, Kinnon, and Lin-
coln, and
great-great-granddaughter
Hayden with
great-great-grandson Liam
scheduled to arrive in
July.
There will be a family
memorial service in Mis-
soula and a graveside ser-
vice in Minot, North
Dakota later this summer.
Memorials may be made
to the Metachromatic Leu-
kodystrophy Foundation
or the American Society
for the Prevention of
Cruelty to Animals. Con-
dolences and memories
may be shared with the
family at
www.whitesittfuneral
home.com.
We wish you fair winds
and following seas until
we meet again Mom.