Obituaries
Arminda Doty Riser (08-27-2009)
Arminda Doty Riser of Shreveport, who devoted over 40 years of service to the Caddo Parish School System before retiring in 1980, died Tuesday, August 25, 2009, at the age of 93 at her home in Shreveport. Funeral arrangements are being handled by Rose- Neath Marshall Street Funeral Home. A Mass of Christian Burial will be at 1:30 p.m., Friday, August 28, 2009, at St. Michael The Archangel Chapel at The Cathedral of St. John Berchmans, where she was an active member most of her life. Interment will follow at 4:30 p.m. at the family plot in Greenwood Cemetery, Ruston, LA.
Born May 31, 1916 and a native of DeQueen, AR, she was married for 52 years to James T. Riser, who preceded her in death February 21, 2006. Mrs. Riser was also preceded in death by her parents, Thomas and Mollie Doty, and stepfather, Charles Beth. She is survived by a nephew, Dr. George Riser of Covington, LA; niece, Martha Riser of Raleigh, NC; a great nephew, David Cooper of Raleigh, NC; cousins, Gillan Robinson of Heavener, OK and Kay Riser Prince and family of Ruston, LA; and close friends, Pattie and Larry Russo, George P. Moran of Shreveport, LA, and Betty Lou Van Dalsem of San Francisco, CA.
A 1933 graduate of Fair Park High School, Mrs. Riser graduated from LSU in 1937 and accepted her first teaching job that year in Gibsland at Belcher Elementary. She moved to South Highland Elementary in 1939 and began a nine-year teaching stint at Fair Park in 1940. She earned a Masters Degree in Counseling from Stanford University in 1951 and upon returning to Shreveport, she took a position in the Central Office of the Caddo Parish School System, becoming the system’s first administrator for testing and measurements.
Under Mrs. Riser’s direction, the Caddo System was one of the first in Louisiana to initiate testing and counseling and became a model throughout the state. Mrs. Riser remained in that position until retiring in 1980 with 42 years in Shreveport public school education, eventually working with 88 parish schools. Arminda was also active in community affairs in Shreveport. She served two terms as the president of the Women’s Department Club and was also a longtime member of the Altrusa Club of Shreveport, joining that organization in 1951.
In lieu of flowers, donations to the Arminda Riser Scholarship Fund at LSU-Shreveport are suggested. Rose-Neath Funeral Home Marshall St. Chapel, 222-0348.
