Mrs. Doris Marie Girard Gilbert

Doris Marie Girard Gilbert, 88, passed away peacefully on the morning of December 24th, at her daughter’s home in Walhalla, South Carolina. Born in Sparta, NY in 1929, she was the daughter of Luella Flora Wagner and Lester Merriman. She lived in a farming community during the Great Depression and as a child she attended a one-room schoolhouse for grades 1-8 with students she has known and kept in contact with throughout her life. Doris graduated from Dansville Central School in 1946 and subsequently, she attended Tulane University’s Women’s Southern Baptist Seminary on a scholarship in New Orleans, Louisiana. Doris married Lloyd Girard in 1950, a native of Metairie, Louisiana. She resided and worked in Jefferson Parish for nearly 20 years while raising three children. In 1966, Doris returned to Dansville NY with her children and began working in Dansville’s elementary school cafeteria and later, as a school custodian. Ms. Doris worked for the Dansville Central School District for 26 years. As a New York State retiree, she volunteered with St. Mary’s Catholic School as a Foster Grandparent. She also served as a hospital Chaplin at Nicholas Noyes Hospital. Ms. Gilbert loved gospel bluegrass music including The Gaithers, Elvis, and Jimmy Swaggert. After retirement, she and her closest musical friends formed a gospel band, The Ambassadors, and sang and entertained elderly residents in nursing homes in Upstate NY area. In 2010 Doris remarried and moved to Pelzer, SC. In more recent years she moved to a retirement community in Due West, SC. Ms. Doris will be remembered and loved for many things. The greatest was her faith and love for God’s message. She loved spending time with her grand daughter, Nichole. Doris’ sweet disposition and good humor, along with her wonderful story-telling that kept people laughing, is a great loss to those who love her most. She was Mom to many in her lifetime, a friend in Jesus to all. Doris is survived by her daughter, Deborah Girard from Walhalla, SC, her son, Daniel Girard from Falmouth, Maine, her granddaughter and husband, Nichole Girard and Mariano Andre from Los Angeles, CA, a great-granddaughter, Camilla Andre and a daughter-in-law, Jill Owens from Lewiston, Maine. Many nieces, nephews and friends surround her with loving memories. She was predeceased by her oldest son, Joseph Girard, her sister, Frances Merriman Hynes, and two husbands, Lloyd Girard and Marion Gilbert. A memorial service is planned for January 17, 2018 to be held at the Renaissance Retirement Community in Due West, SC. In May, of 2018, a Spring funeral service will be held at Hindle’s Funeral Home in Dansville, NY. Interment at Kiel Cemetery will be followed by a celebration of Doris’ life to be held at Sparta Fire Hall.

Mrs. Doris Marie Girard Gilbert

February 28, 1929 - December 24, 2017