Christ Community Covenant Church

Doris McPhetrige

At the venerable age of 93, Doris Lucille Braaf McPhetrige admitted it - she was a tomboy! Born at home on the farm near Hallam, NE on April 13, 1920, she was the daughter of a German Lutheran immigrant father and a Methodist mother who was also a Nebraska native. Doris remembers that she disliked housework, preferring instead to help with the gardening and farm chores, as long as she could be outside! Her fondest memories and best days were every tomboy's dream - spent playing in the barn, jumping in the hay, riding bareback on her pony, swinging on the rope swing tied high in a tree, and staying out of Mom's way in her outdoor playhouse. Her father planted wheat, oats, and corn to sell, but the farm was virtually self sufficient with horses, cows, and chickens to supply the family's needs. Despite the loss of her only brother (who was eight years older than she) at age 23, and the difficulties of the dust bowl years, life on the farm was a special time providing the solid foundation that would influence Doris throughout her life.

Doris began eight years of music study at the tender age of eight, playing an old pump organ at her elementary school for class singing. Soon she was playing for Sunday school and eventually for services at the local Methodist Church. After graduation, she attended the University of Nebraska, attaining an Associates Degree in Education and went on to teach elementary classes in Clarks, NE. In 1941 Doris moved to Ft. Leonard Wood, MO to take a civil service job with the post engineers. That move was meant to be!

On a blind date in 1942, Doris met the love of her life, Clyde Franklin "Mac" McPhetrige, a sergeant in the army. From Arkansas, and one of 10 children from an Irish family, Mac was different and she really didn't like him at first. Still, with each date they grew closer, and Doris now believes that God chose him just for her. Their wedding in Rolla, MO on June 27, 1942 was a quiet one - the organist forgot to show up! Unruffled, Doris sashayed down the aisle to the sound of silence. The newlyweds first home was in Waynesville, MO in a pastor’s unadorned basement, but it served the purpose until a more suitable apartment could be found. When Mac was deployed to the European theater during WWII, Doris moved to Sacramento to wait for him to return - a fact she never doubted. Once back in the States, Mac landed a chief accountant position with Swift & Co. As Mac advanced, his job took the young couple on a series of moves through the Midwest. In Beatrice, NE their first daughter, Cheri, was born in 1947. Second child, Patrick, arrived in 1949 in Algona, IA. In 1952, now in Spencer, IA, daughter, Nola, came along. Five years later, after moving to Sioux City, their fourth child, David, was born in 1957. The family loved the area and settled there for the next eight years.

Mac's work kept him on the road traveling to meet clients, so Doris became very proficient at managing the details of a home and family on her own. In addition to the children, Doris also cared for her mother who lived with the family for 35 years. She handled the sale of each house before a move while Mac picked out their new home, always taking care to find one near a good church and schools. When Mac was home they enjoyed riding their horses together, and made regular family fishing trips to Minnesota. In 1967 the family settled on Jay Street in Arvada until Mac's job, now with Bostitch, moved them to Seattle, WA in 1975. There, Mac and Doris were finally able to own acreage of land that allowed them to keep the horses on their property instead of boarding them. Four years later, when Bostitch asked if they would like to return to Denver, they purchased a home on horse property near 72nd and Ward Road where they were happy to live nearer to children and grandchildren. Mac finally retired, but retirement didn't agree with him and two weeks later he signed on with Keyston selling horse supplies. This time when he traveled, Doris went with him. After Mac passed on in 1998, Doris, found caring families for the horses, sold their home, and moved into Mountain View at Covenant Village of Colorado in 2001.

Doris knows that God has been with her throughout the years, especially recently when friends prayed over her as she dealt with a difficult health issue. Despite that, she walks a mile every day around the CVC campus and attends church regularly with daughter Nola. Three of her 4 children and most of her 5 grandchildren and 2 great-grandchildren live far away, but the family remains close through phone calls and emails, and they have great fun when schedules allow them to get together. Doris believes that putting God first and loving your family and neighbors are the key to a happy life. Oh, and also "eating right, and just one man - that's it!" Charming and sharp at 93, Doris is living proof that those are words to live by.