Doris Takewell

Doris E. Takewell, age 75, passed from this life Tuesday, September 22, 2026, at home surrounded by family. Doris was born June 3, 1951 in Winnfeild, LA to the late Luther and Emma Thompson.

Doris will be remembered as a woman who did not simply move through life; she gathered people along the way.

She possessed a remarkable gift for making others feel loved, welcomed, and safe. Her love was generous and unconditional, and she had a way of making people family simply because she chose to love them as such. Those fortunate enough to find a place in Doris’s heart knew that it was a place they could call home.

She leaves behind a family bound together not only by blood, but by the love she so carefully built, including Donald Takewell, Amanda Howell, April Tines, Brooke, and the many others she welcomed into her life as her own.

Her absence leaves the world altered for those who loved her, but the family she gathered remains part of her legacy. There will be stories to tell, memories to hold close; and surely more than a few fond memories of her brownies.

For those who mourn Doris, there is also the promise of Scripture:

“Our bodies are buried in brokenness, but they will be raised in glory. They are buried in weakness, but they will be raised in strength.”

Doris spent her life gathering people in love. And perhaps there is no finer legacy than leaving behind people who still belong to one another because she taught them how to belong.

She was preceded in death by her parents, one son Randy Hamilton; one daughter Christy Leonelli; five brothers James Thompson, Clifton Thompson, Wilton Thompson, Robert Thompson, Richard Thompson; and one sister Gladys Lively.

Those left to cherish her memory include: her loving husband and cartaker of thirty nine years Don Takewell; two daughters Amanda Howell (Ron), and April Tines (Jon); one son-in-law Steff Leonelli; three grandchildren Brooke Malai (Nicos), Ian Tines, Talon Howell; one brother Vernon Thompson (Mary); as well as a host of extended family and friends.