Doris Gers Minkinow, 85, of Huntsville, Alabama, passed away Monday evening. Doris was born on January 19, 1933, in Port Huron, Michigan, and raised by her mother, Annabelle Thompson, in Raleigh, North Carolina. A stunning young woman in her early twenties, she caught the attention of and married Stanley Minkinow, a young Army soldier stationed at Fort Bragg in North Carolina who would be her dance partner for life. The Army first sent Doris and her young G.I. abroad to a beautiful village in the German Alps, where Doris made lifelong friends and welcomed her first two children, Kim and Ted. Doris and Stan’s military journey brought them back to the United States, where they welcomed their youngest child, Amy.
In 1977, after years of adventures across the United States and abroad, Doris and Stan settled in Huntsville, Alabama. Over the years, Doris devoted much of her time to local philanthropic causes, including serving as an active Member and President of the Huntsville Museum of Art Women’s Guild, while also supporting her husband and his business ventures, mentoring her grandchildren – and exemplifying the sanctity of individualism, intelligence, style, and integrity throughout her life with everyone she encountered.
Doris is preceded in death by her mother, Annabelle Thompson. She is survived by her husband, Stanley Minkinow, Major (U.S.A., Ret.); three children, Kim Anna Minkinow and husband, Kirby Gaudin, of Huntsville, AL; Ted H. Minkinow, Lieutenant Colonel (U.S.A.N.G., Ret.) and wife, Nikki, of Huntsville, AL; Amy Minkinow Frisk, Colonel (U.S.A., Ret.) and husband, Joseph, Colonel (U.S.A., Ret.) of Evergreen, CO; eight grandchildren, Anna Kathleen Minkinow and wife, Hongyee Se, of Birmingham, AL; Marc Phillip Gaudin and wife, Jiahua Li, of Savannah, GA; Elena Gaudin Moats and husband, Neil, of Huntsville, AL; Sophia, Sadie, Stan, Roman, and Anabelle Minkinow of Huntsville, AL.
There will be a public visitation 12:30pm to 2:00pm, Saturday, February 1, 2018, at Laughlin Service Funeral Home. The family will pay their final respects at Maple Hill Cemetery.
In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Huntsville Museum of Art, 300 Church Street, Huntsville, AL 35801.
