Doris (Dollie) Whittaker passed away Jan. 29, 2006, after a long battle with kidney disease. She was preceded in death by her parents, her brother and her second husband, Jack Wheelock.

She is survived by her husband John of Camano Island, her daughter Diane of Edmonds, granddaughters Rebecca and Katherine, stepdaughter Sandy, stepson John IV, six step grandchildren and seven step great-grandchildren.

Dollie, the daughter of John and Clara Woods, was born in Seattle on Feb. 8, 1925. She was a 1943 graduate of Lincoln High School. Immediately following graduation, she and two other young ladies formed a trio called The Melodettes. They toured the United States and shared the bill, with several stars of that era, including Earl “Fatha” Hines and Bill “Bojanges” Robinson. They also entertained servicemen in veterans hospitals across the U.S.

Dollie raised Diane as a single mother from age three to 16 at which time she married Jack Wheelock. She worked as a waitress, bank teller and elevator operator at the historic Olympic Hotel in Seattle.

She was a trophy winning bowler. At the age of 56 she took up golf and just seven years later became Camaloch Ladies Golf Champion.

The family wishes to extend its heartfelt thanks to Kathy Peebler for her tender loving care of Dollie for nearly three years. And to the team she put together for these last several weeks including Colleen Cooper, Tena Hornsby and Holly Stang.

She was a shining star who lit up any room she entered, a most valuable player in the game of life. Ceremonies will be held at Gilbertson Funeral Home in Stanwood at 11 a.m. Friday, Feb. 3, and interment will follow at Cypress Lawn Cemetery in Everett. Remembrances can be made to Camaloch Junior Golf or to the Kathy Peebler Caregiver Scholarship Fund in Care of the Stanwood-Camano Area Foundation.

Arrangements under the direction of Gilbertson Funeral Home, Stanwood.