Doris Delayne Dotson Davidson

Doris Delayne Dotson was a force to be reckoned with-a woman who met life head-on with grit, humor, and a heart big enough to carry five generations of love. She passed away on May 10, 2025, in her home in Ennis, Montana, surrounded by the peace of the valley she loved so dearly (and probably a few cans of homemade jelly tucked in the pantry).

Born on April 11, 1937, in Park Grove, Montana, Doris entered the world as lucky number 7 of 13 children born to Raymond Clifford Dotson and Blanche Luella Quilling Dotson. Her arrival coincided with her father's work on the Fort Peck Dam-perhaps that's where she got her inner strength. Raised between Lambert and Sidney, Montana, Doris learned the value of hard work early-and she never stopped applying it.

After the birth of her first son, Ronald, in Sidney, Doris made her way to the apple orchards of Medford, Oregon, where she met Earnie McAllister. The two built a life in Porterville, California, and raised four boys together, adding Bob, Lonnie, and Clifford. The boys were wild, but Doris was wilder-and somehow, they all survived.

In the early 1980s, after successfully launching her boys into the world (more or less), Doris followed the magnetic pull of Montana back home. She worked tirelessly at the Madison Valley Hospital and later spent her days caring for homes-and the people in them-with her signature blend of grit, grace, and sass. If Doris cleaned your house, you got more than a tidy space-you got a friend for life, unsolicited advice, and likely a jar of chokecherry or pomegranate jelly.

Doris started every morning with a cup of strong black cowboy coffee (no cream, no sugar, no nonsense) and ended each evening with an ice-cold Budweiser. She lived life by her own rules, and those rules included hard work, loyalty, and showing up-every single time.

She was fiercely loyal, full of laughter, and equipped with a will as steady and unyielding as the Montana mountains she loved. Cancer may have tried to take her, but Doris wasn't having it-not for two and a half years past when everyone thought her time had come. She lived on pure determination and the love of her family and friends, and don't you dare say otherwise.

Doris devoted herself to the Madison Valley Fire Department and was known to have a soft spot (and likely a casserole) ready for any firefighter in need. She was a champion of people, a gatherer of the lonely, and the knitter of approximately 8,426 baby blankets-each made with love and only minor cussing.

She is survived by four of her beloved siblings: Jack Dotson, Larry Dotson, Delores Dotson Leveno, and Minnie Dotson Krueger; her four sons: Ronald (Patti), Bob (Donna), Lonnie, and Clifford; 10 grandchildren, 14 great-grandchildren, and 2 great-great-grandchildren-each of whom knew exactly where to go for a slice of 7-layer German Chocolate cake (or to get scolded for not calling enough).

She now joins the heavenly ranks of her parents and eight siblings, two daughters-in-law, and three grandchildren, who no doubt welcomed her with open arms, a coffee pot on, and maybe some pie.

Doris Dotson was not a woman you forgot. She was a woman who showed up. She gave her all-every day, for everyone. And if you were loved by her, you knew it. She didn't whisper her love; she wrapped it around you in yarn, baked it into crust, and handed it to you in a jar of jam.

In true Doris fashion, she'd probably roll her eyes at all this fuss. But we're going to make it anyway. Because she earned it.

A celebration of Doris's extraordinary life will be held on Friday, May 23rd at 11 a.m. at Madison Valley Cemetery, followed by a gathering at Madison Valley Rural Fire Station #1. In the meantime, hug your people, bake a pie, and call your mother. Doris would insist on it.