×

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.