Doris Jane Slankard

April 21, 1938 – January 26, 2025
Our mother, Doris Jane Slankard, was very loved by her family and will be missed always. Mom has left behind three daughters, three son-in-laws, seven grandchildren ( their spouses and partners) and two great- granddaughters.
Her life taught us lessons on being better people, better mothers, and better friends. We know she was proud of us always and we hope she knew we were proud of her too.
Doris was born on April 21, 1938 in the San Joaquin Valley of central California in the rural farm town of Delano on a small farm owned by her parents. Her parents were Bertha Alice McKnight Slankard and George Slankard. She was the youngest child and is preceded in death by her parents and two brothers Jack and Wallace Edwin.
Losing her father at a young age, Doris moved with her mother and brothers to a house in town where her mother could find work. She attended Delano schools and graduated from Delano High School in 1956.
She was crowned as Honored Queen of Job’s Daughters Delano Bethel No. 67 in 1954 and active in a wide variety of school organizations. Following high school, Doris attended Fresno State University majoring in journalism before putting her education on hold to get married and start our family.
In the summer of 1969, Doris moved with her then-husband, Ed Stevens, when he accepted a coaching position at Grambling State University. It was very brave of her to move away from family and friends in California with three young girls. She took advantage of the opportunity to re-enroll in college and earned her journalism degree from Grambling in 1972 becoming the first person in her family to graduate from college.
With there not being opportunities for female sports writers in the 1970s, Doris went down the road five miles and enrolled in the nursing program at Louisiana Tech University and graduated with her RN degree in 1976. Doris worked at the then Lincoln General Hospital until she retired as the Director of Inservice Education.
Although her career path shifted, she was very proud of the fact that she completed both degrees with honors and was able to support herself comfortably for the remainder of her life. She was also proud that her daughters were educated and had both good careers and a good family life. She loved that all seven of her grandchildren graduated from college and loved to hear about their ongoing accomplishments and anecdotes about her great- grandchildren.
In her retirement, Doris relocated to Sun City in Georgetown, Texas, to be closer to her family. When her eyesight declined, she lived with her daughter Brenda and son-in-law Michael for eight years before spending her final years at Trinity Care Home in Round Rock, Texas, where she received loving care.
Doris is survived by:
• Daughter Brenda and son-in-law Michael Ryan of Round Rock; grandson Daniel Ryan and his partner Riley Adelman of Cedar Park, Texas; grandson Kevin Lindsay-Ryan and his wife Hannah Lindsay-Ryan of Austin, Texas.
• Daughter Mindy and son- in- law Rick Lewis of Round Rock; granddaughter Andi Ybarra, her husband Marc Ybarra, and daughter Drue Jane Ybarra of Houston; granddaughter Sydney Jane Lewis of San Francisco; granddaughter Bryn Kline, her husband Pete Kline, and daughter Farley Rae Kline of Santa Rosa, California; and grandson Tucker Lewis of Albuquerque, New Mexico.
• Daughter Marianne Leclerc and son-in-law François Leclerc of Dallas, and their daughter Cécile Leclerc.
• Her loving nieces, Kathy Slankard Davis and husband Bill Davis, of Tehachapi, California and Cindy Slankard of Sacramento. Grandnephew, Tony Leonardini and his daughter Raven Leonardini and husband Andrew Sanchez.
We would be remiss if we didn’t honor the pets that kept Mom company and that she treasured over the years. To name a few, Brigadoon, Heather, Picabo, Mikey and Frankie.
Our family will gather in Delano, California on Feb 22 to pay our last respects to our mother. She will lie next to her mother and other family and friends.
The family deeply appreciates the kind thoughts and prayers sent their way. In lieu of flowers and other remembrances, please honor Doris’s memory by enjoying a good piece of chocolate, her very favorite indulgence.
You are able to share thoughts on Legacy. com. Search her name or at this url: https:// www.legacy.com/link. asp?i=OB57408836.