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On February 9th, 1943, the late Joe and Ernestine Coppage welcomed their fourth child in Martin County, NC and named her Doris Dean Coppage. Educated in the public school system of Martin County, she received her high school diploma. She then went to live with her big “Sister” in Brooklyn NY and trained to use office machines and worked briefly for the IRS. Doris or “Gal” as her siblings called her, went from New York to Connecticut after marrying Seamore Staton, Jr, who was her husband of 60 years. They left Connecticut and returned to North Carolina and shortly thereafter moved with their three children into their home in Parmele where her husband still resides. Mrs. Staton worked at several jobs but is remembered for her years at Blue Bell where she put the snaps on Wrangler jeans. She’s remembered even more for her many years as a laundress at the now closed Ray’s Washtub in Greenville NC. This was her happy place as she insisted folding laundry gave her peace. Her faithful clients were also happy when she worked, insisting that when Mrs. Doris folded your clothes you did not need an iron. In addition to her skills in a laundry room, Mrs. Doris could cook! Her 7-layer chocolate cake as well as her 3-layer chocolate pecan cake left you wanting more. And anyone who was ever privileged to have a slice of her sweet potato cake would swear it was the best thing they had ever eaten. Her chicken and pastry, her collard greens, and her potato salad were also much appreciated by everyone who tried it. Doris, raised in the church, was a long-time member of Olive Branch Missionary Baptist Church in Parmele. While there, she sang in the choir until esophageal cancer attacked her body. She stepped down from the choir and stepped up to the finance committee where she served until dementia caused her to give it up. Failing health caused her to eventually walk away from the church but never from God. Her quiet faith remained even when her memory faded. Some days she couldn’t recognize family members, but if you recited the 23rd Psalm, she’d say it with you. Mrs. Doris Staton was proof that only God can determine the length of our days. In 1996 when diagnosed with cancer, the doctors said she had two months to live. They were wrong. They were wrong again in October 2023 when they said she had only six months before dementia would cause her body to shut down. God gave her six more months besides. Preceded in death by her parents and five of her siblings, these memories and more will continue to be cherished by her husband, Seamore Staton, Jr; her children, Donna Robinson (Jeffrey) of Raleigh, NC, Dutchess Horton (Aaron) of Winterville, NC and Dwayne Staton of Greenville, NC; her grandchildren, David Robinson of Raleigh, NC, and Brianna and Marquita Horton of Winterville, NC. She also leaves five siblings: Irma Taylor of Greenville, NC, Ida Mae Coppage of Parmele, NC, Willam Coppage (Irene) of Bethel, NC, Jesse Coppage (Maggie) of Parmele, NC and Tom “Melvin” Coppage (Barbara) of Raleigh, NC, as well as a host of nieces, nephews, “in-loves”, cousins, and friends.

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Mrs. Doris C. Staton

February 9, 1943 - October 26, 2024