Judith Clare Doty

Judith Clare Doty , 80, passed away on January 2, 2022, at Chosen Valley Care Center.  She was born February 24, 1941, to Harold and Sally Shaffer in Detroit, Mich.  The family moved to Cohasset, Minn., in her early years.  She attended Cohasset Elementary and Grand Rapids High School.  She attended MN Bible College in Minneapolis, Minn., earning an AA degree.

On June 8, 1962, she married Daniel Doty (Clarion, Iowa) and worked as a nurse’s aide at the University hospital while he went to school to become a minister.

While serving churches, including one in Mataura, N.Z., she had a fierce faith and warm hospitality.  She loved cooking, baking and trying new recipes. She often baked pies and cinnamon rolls for the neighbors.

She had two children, Sally (Dan) Chapman and Jon (Jenny) Doty.

She separated from Dan in 1983 and moved to Rochester, Minn., to be near her sister Sherry Isbell.  She worked long hours cleaning to support her two teenage children and herself.

She had a heart of gold, often giving more than she could afford to those in need.

In 2015 she had a major stroke.  She moved to assisted living at Traditions in Preston for one year before moving to Chosen Valley Care Center in Chatfield, where she was very loved and cared for by the staff and attendants.  They enjoyed her telling them about her father’s mercantile store in Cohasset, asking them about their college classes and telling them to drive safe.  She often thanked them 10 times and then asked if she remembered to thank them.  They were all called “skaliwag” on several occasions.

She was preceded in death by her father Harold Shaffer, mother Sally Shaffer, brother Bill (Rande) Shaffer, sister Sherry Isbell and nephew Steve Shaffer.

She is survived by her brother Jeff (Jane) Shaffer of Grand Rapids, Minn., daughter Sally (Dan) Chapman of Fountain, Minn., and their five children; and son Jon (Jenny) Doty and their two children; twin great-granddaughters, nieces and nephews.

Some fond memories of the grandchildren include piling in her little red car to go to the library or to pick out a movie, milkshakes in the blender, learning to make chicken curry and egg rolls, and swimming in her pool at her condo.

There will be a small gathering with close family and friends at her burial in Cohasset in the early summer.