Doris Mae Diddy, 90, of Stuart passed away peacefully Wednesday, Feb. 1, 2017 at her home in Stuart, Iowa.
Doris was born Feb. 21, 1926 to Philip Read and Ida Ruth (Carhill) Vandever in Perry. She graduated from Perry High School in 1944. Doris married Harold Paul Diddy on Sept. 17, 1944 and they made their life together on a farm south of Stuart. They had four children and were married 35 years before his death in 1980.
Doris worked in Des Moines before being hired in 1960 as a teller at the bank in Menlo, and she didn’t retire until 2016. Two armed robberies, one in 1980 and another in 1981, taught her a valuable lesson: “You always think, 'What would you do if it really happened?' I realized, you do exactly what the man with the gun tells you to do!"
Customers became friends and regularly visited her for coffee, conversation and cribbage while records spun in the background. At the time of her retirement she said, “I have been faithfully defending this vault door for 55 years.”
Doris was a member of PEO, Eastern Star, AO-Kiya Study Club and Stuart-Mt. Vernon United Methodist Church, where she served on the administrative board, and was involved in a local poetry club.
She enjoyed gardening and tending to her flowers, reading, writing and reading poetry, playing cards, traveling, watching movies and, most of all, spending time with her family and friends.
Doris was preceded in death by her parents and husband.
She is survived by her brother Charles (Rita Jenkins) Vanderver, daughters Vicki Rogers, Becky (Larry) Niederklein and Debbie (Paul) Wilson and her son Dennis (Tess) Diddy, grandchildren Amy (Vik) Vali, Matt (Dini) Anderson, Tom (Holly) Anderson, Rick (Shani) Henry, Jill (Ed) Kerrigan, Melissa (Vern) Lawrence, Adam (Natalie) Wilson, Shilo (Dominic) Melendez and Amanda (Levi) Hancock, 26 great-grandchildren, two great-great-grandchildren, and a host of friends, all of whom will miss her greatly.
Visitation will be held from 5 to 8 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 9, 2017 at the Stuart-Mt. Vernon United Methodist Church. A celebration of life will be held at 10:30 a.m. Friday, Feb. 10, at the church. A private family burial will take place at a later date in the South Oak Grove Cemetery in Stuart.
Memorial contributions may be made to the Doris Diddy Memorial Fund, which will be distributed to charities and organizations chosen by Doris.
Online condolences may be left at JohnsonFamilyFuneralHome.com.
To plant a tree in memory of Doris Mae Diddy, visit the
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9
Feb
219 NW 2nd. Street
Stuart, IA 50250
10
Feb
219 NW 2nd. Street
Stuart, IA 50250
A luncheon will immediately follow the service at the Church.
NE 7th Street
Stuart, IA 50250
Johnson Family Funeral Home & Cremation Services
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