Some women will tell you never to ask them their age, and Doris Sanders was most certainly one of those women.
So greatly, in fact, that Sanders’ family and friends were forbidden to ask, and even those who had known her for nearly her entire life were unsure of her true age, said her daughter-in-law, Theresa Sanders of Birmingham, Ala.
“We weren’t even allowed to discuss age,” she said with a laugh. “We never even knew how old she was until we saw her birth certificate.”
But Sanders’ age wasn’t really all that important, for her youthful spirit and love of life kept her young at heart. And those who knew her had never guessed she was anywhere near 85 years old, her daughter-in-law said.
“She didn’t dress like 85, she didn’t look 85, she didn’t act 85,” Theresa Sanders said. “She just maintained a youthful exuberance throughout her entire life.”
Doris Strother Sanders of Sandy Springs died May 3 from complications of a stroke at St. Joseph’s Hospital in Atlanta. And she was, indeed, 85.
Her funeral is scheduled for 2 p.m. Saturday at H.M. Patterson and Son Arlington Chapel in Sandy Springs, which was also in charge of the arrangements. Interment will immediately follow at Arlington Memorial Park.
Sanders had previously worked as a dental hygienist in Buckhead for nearly 10 years. But she quit that job when her son, Richard, was born and, instead, made a career out of being a mother who diligently served on every board and every team to which her son belonged.
When Richard got married and moved to Birmingham, Sanders decided she needed something to do. So she began volunteering at St. Joseph’s Hospital, where she remained a fixture for 27 years, and where her kindness and positivity made an impact on everyone, said Allison Hager, the hospital’s director of guest and volunteer services.
“She did the nicest things for people without being asked,” Hager said. “She was just one of those people. She was extraordinary.”
Logging nearly 11,000 hours of service, Sanders did everything from transport patients to run the hospital’s thrift shop, which she eventually took over and renamed “Merci Boutique,” where people often came in “just to see Doris,” said longtime friend and St. Joseph’s retiree, Carol Glass.
Sanders was also co-chair of the hospital’s scholarship committee, which was funded 100 percent by the shop’s earnings. And although she was never paid for her services, Doris Sanders considered the hospital and Merci Boutique to be her career, Theresa Sanders said.
“She had three or four days a week that were completely hospital related,” Theresa Sanders said. “It was almost like a full-time job. She took it that seriously.”
In addition to her other services, Sanders managed the hospital’s volunteer band “Saints Alive.” Made up of Sanders and a handful of other volunteers, the group would dress in costumes and perform in nursing homes and other facilities to bring happiness to those who needed it, as Doris Sanders always did, her daughter-in-law said.
“If there was someone in her path who needed help, she was there,” Theresa Sanders said. “She shared everything with everybody – except her age.”
In addition to her son and daughter-in-law, Sanders is survived by three grandchildren and one great-grandson.
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