Dorris Inez Kissel's Obituary
Kissel, Dorris Inez Maas ~ Was a “daughter of Dallas”, born to her parents Clarence and Thelma Maas in a family neighborhood. They lived next door to her grandmother, aunt, uncle and cousin on the corner of Moser and Fuqua. Dorris attended Dallas schools, including Woodrow Wilson High School. She graduated from Hockaday Jr. College. Even more important than school was her activity at First Baptist Church where she sang in choir faithfully for 80 years. God gave her the gift of perfect pitch and she used her talent to His glory. She sang in a quartet with Martha Fanning and Frank Boggs. One Sunday night, though, she and a friend decided to ditch Training Union at First Baptist and see what was going on across the street at First Methodist. She found out that Methodists did not forbid dancing and that Pat Kissel did a mean jitterbug. They were married in 1951 and raised three children together: Nita, Connie and Andrew. Now, all five of them were singing in the choirs at First Baptist. She also liked to find projects in magazines for Pat to create for her, keeping him busy. In August 2010, she lost her husband of 59 years and lost her song. Pat had a few months of rest in heaven from her projects, but now no telling what ideas she’ll have for him to build in between choir practices in one of God’s Heavenly choirs. She is survived by her three children and five grandchildren: Aaron and Nicole Fanning, Breton Fanning, Arden Fanning, David Schroeder, and Jonathan Schroeder. Visitation will be at Restland Memorial Park on Wednesday from 5pm to 7pm. with a funeral service on Thursday at 3:00 pm at Restland’s Wildwood Chapel.
What’s your fondest memory of Dorris?
What’s a lesson you learned from Dorris?
Share a story where Dorris' kindness touched your heart.
Describe a day with Dorris you’ll never forget.
How did Dorris make you smile?