“To her children, Judy was home. She created a life where she gave us much, and we carried her high expectations along with her unflappable belief we could meet and exceed them. We felt her confidence and support for us. We knew she loved us.”
Judith Dooris Obituary
Judy Chambers Dooris was born on either March or May 18 – nobody is certain – 1936, in California, and died June 13, 2026. This is already off to a rough start. Mom would never reveal her age to us kids, so she would certainly object to announcing her birth year in the newspaper. Apologies, mom. They made us do it.
Judy was the firstborn child of Mildred Devlin and Edward Chambers of Spokane. After siblings Eddy and Sonny arrived, when Judy was five, Mildred died suddenly, forever marking little Judy. Her father remarried Anne O'Leary and they gave Judy five additional younger siblings: Dan Chambers, Rich Chambers (Mary Lou), David Chambers (Joan) all of Spokane; John Chambers (Joan) of La Grande, Oregon, and Joan Chambers of Sandy, Oregon. Judy was raised in Spokane and attended Saint Augustine Catholic elementary school, Holy Names Academy and she graduated from Mary Cliff High School in 1953. She earned a Sociology degree from Seattle University.
In her early 20s, Judy was a bridesmaid at Bill Dooris' cousin's wedding. He was smitten and courted her long-distance for many months. She would want us to write here that she had options. But lucky for us, she chose Bill and a life filled with his good humor, song, and laughter. She would often say to us "marry someone fun" because she did.
Judy and Bill lived in Bellevue, and Judy birthed 4 kids in just under 4.5 years. Obviously, she was Catholic. Judy was ferociously protective of her children against clear threats. Once on a family camping trip, a roaring drunk uncle stormed into our camping trailer intending to scare us kids, but mom met him at the threshold and hollered, "YOU GET OUT OF HERE!" He yelped and retreated, squeaking "sorry Judy." Against possible threats, she would agree to let us go on the adventure but would insist: "take Brute with you!" Brute was a stocky, black lab-rottweiler mix who was notorious for taking strangers' hands in his huge mouth and leading the terrified suspect to Judy for inspection. In the absence of threat, Judy encouraged us to explore the nearby woods, collect pond eggs and raise tadpoles to frogs, read books, ride bikes, bake, nap, learn to swim (so we could save our mother, who could not swim), and host summer sleepovers on the deck. She was not afraid of car trips in unreliable station wagons, dad's adventures that might involve leaking tents, or extra kids and big dogs.
When her kids were all busy at St. Louise elementary and Blanchet High School, Judy went back to work. She started as a part-time lunch lady at a junior high school and was quickly promoted to bookkeeper. Eventually she applied for enrollment at the U.W. paralegal program. When she was rejected, she found a member of the admissions board and met to discuss what her application lacked. She applied again. After graduating with a U.W. paralegal certification, in 1995 she began an interesting and fulfilling career assisting (training) new King County prosecutors in the domestic violence unit. She loved the work, the people, and the fact she helped people who needed it. After many wonderful years, the unit relocated and Judy reluctantly retired in 2010. She would want us to write that she was not ready to stop working. Retirement did not suit Judy. Fortunately, her children collectively produced 10 grandchildren, all of whom Judy recognized as gorgeous, brilliant beings. She closely tracked each of them. Their visits and phone calls delighted her – every single time.
Judy valued kindness, education, curiosity, and excellent grammar. She was fluent in sarcasm and enjoyed dry humor. She could be maddeningly inscrutable, maybe because of her oft-repeated advisory: "if you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all." Judy was practiced at not saying anything at all.
To her children, Judy was home. She created a life where she gave us much, and we carried her high expectations along with her unflappable belief we could meet and exceed them. We felt her confidence and support for us. We knew she loved us.
Judy is survived by her five siblings, and her beloved children and grandchildren: William Dooris (Joanna) of Suquamish, WA and their children Will (Margaux), Reilly (Ches), and Jake (Lindsey) all of Lake Tahoe, NV; Patrick Dooris (Jackie) and their children Patrick and Ryan all of Portland, OR; Millie Judge (Tim) of Everett, WA and their children Liz Miller (Dustin) of Lake Stevens, WA and Joe of Playa del Rey, CA; and Julia Dooris McGann of Spokane, WA and her children Kathleen of Dana Point, CA, Matthew of Boise, ID and Nicholas of Spokane, WA.
A funeral mass will be held at St. Louise church in Bellevue, WA on July 22 at 11:00 a.m. Judy's favorite charities included Tavon Learning Center and Assistance Dogs Northwest.
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