Doris also known as Dot, Mother, Mum, Grandmother, and Queen by her family and friends peacefully transcended her earthly body on February 20, 2019. Doris was born in Ashton in Makerfield, Lancashire England on March 31, 1924 to parents John and Anne Unsworth. They soon moved to Golborne, where Doris and her beloved brother Peter spent their formative years.
After graduating from school Doris decided to join other women of Britain in the war effort. At the young age of 18 she volunteered for duty with British Auxiliary Territorial Service. By 1941 there was a severe shortage of men for home defense and this lack of manpower meant that girls were called up to operate Fire Control instruments for Ack Ack guns.
Doris was a member of the ATS 467 Battery and served in/near London for 3 ½ years. During this time she formed bonds with several women who would forever influence her life. The girls lived, ate and bunked together and they were very good at the job they were asked to do.
Her battery remained together throughout the war and were awarded the “highest V2 shot down”. It was during one of her few leaves home to Golborne that Doris met “Jimmy” (Ed Reed) a US GI from Black Mountain NC. She says it was the “southern gentleman” that wooed her over and they married in a civil ceremony on December 21, 1944.
In the following year Doris gave birth to John Richard Reed (Rick) at the hands of the mid-wife in her parents’ home in Golborne. Shortly after the end of the war Ed was discharged and sent home to NC where he worked to make a new home for his bride and son. They would not join him until the following year.
Doris went on to make a life here in America, quickly making friends and joining in the local community, taking leadership roles in both veterans and church groups and organizations. In 1956 she gave birth to her daughter, Robin Elizabeth Reed. These two were rarely separated for the next 62 years, becoming best friends and confidants.
Doris held several jobs in her new little town but one she was most proud of was her work with the Alcoholic Rehabilitation Center (ADAC), where she served as a counselor. Doris loved to visit her family and made several trips to England and Australia where her brother Peter had immigrated at the end of the war. She dearly loved her Brit cousins and her Aussie family and looked forward to her time spent with them.
During her final days their phone calls “thrilled her to bits”. In 1976 Doris and Ed divorced but remained friends sharing children and grandchildren and many cherished memories. In 1977 Doris married WWII Air Force Veteran A.J. Haselden.
Doris retired in 1989 shortly before A.J. died. She filled the void by volunteering at Mission Hospital, singing in the choir at Abernethy United Methodist and singing in the Asheville Parks and Recreation touring group the “Troubadorables” and going to dances with her friends. Oh how she loved music, playing the piano and dancing.
In 1993 Doris married WWII Navy veteran Thomas Doyle, who, she met on the dance floor! They enjoyed each other’s company very much. When Tom died in 1999 Doris once again found herself to her own devices.
From here she busied herself with caring for her grandchildren, always opening her home to any that needed an overnight or extended stay. “Her home was always your home”. As age and memory loss took over she depended more on others, including her special “daughter” Joy Anderson-Gallion, who was her companion for several years.
In 2017 Doris moved to the Crossings at Reynolds Mountain, into the “best apartment” they had! Well at least the most decorated “shrine to the British empire” filled with books, her piano and her photos …. Lots and lots of photos of her cherished family.
Doris is survived by her children, Rick Reed (Jeanine) and Robin Reed Jones (Chuck); grandchildren, Paige Wilson (Todd), Keith Reed (Mitzi), Ashley Reed, Jason Reed, Megan Jones Medford (Jay) and Rebecca Jones (Travis); great grandchildren, Drew Britain (McKenzie), Annie McNeely, Brigman Reed, Drake Reed and Baxter Hayes Medford. Her Australian family, sister-in-law, Phyllis Unsworth; nephews. John Unsworth (Kylie), Richard Unsworth (Ainslie) and James Unsworth (Tonya) along with great nieces and nephews.
The family would like to thank Dr. Robert Barker and his staff for years of care and friendship and the staff at The Crossings at Reynolds Mountain for your compassionate care and a special thank you to the staff of Carepartners Hospice. You all made a difference in her life. Visitation will be held Sunday, March 10 at 2:00 p.m. at Abernethy United Methodist Church, 1418 Patton Ave.
Asheville NC with a celebration Doris’s life immediately following. In lieu of flowers the family requests donations to Abernethy United Methodist BEAR Closet or ABCCM Veterans Restoration Quarters. Read Less To send flowers in memory of Doris Unsworth Reed Haselden Doyle, please visit our Heartfelt Sympathies Store.
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