While growing up my parents use to rent out two of our five bedrooms to college students since we
lived so close to the university. We got to know a variety of people this way, many of them foreigners.
One such young man (although he seemed very old to me at the time) was Don Doss.
Standing here with my sister Robin in 1963.
His mother wrote the famous book, "The Family Nobody Wanted."
It was made into a movie in 1975, starring Shirley Jones, and also a play that high schools still perform.
It's all about how she and her pastor husband adopted 12 children, all from different nationalities and
mixed races. This was back in the 1950s and 60s when adopting out of your race was just not done. Or
very rarely done. Don was their oldest of the 12 children.
mixed races. This was back in the 1950s and 60s when adopting out of your race was just not done. Or
very rarely done. Don was their oldest of the 12 children.
It was quite the book back then. We had heard about it before even meeting Don. So he lived with our
family while attending Fresno State in the early 1960s, for I don't even know how long……a year?
A few years? I don't know. But my older siblings and myself still remember him.
My brother Richard asked me to find out what ever happened to Don.
So this is what I have learned so far:
In about 1968, Don met his future wife while they were both patients in a hospital, and married a year later. As of 2012, they had been married nearly 45 years. They have 2 children, and 2 grandchildren.
Don's mother, Helen died in 2012 at the age of 97. One of her daughters had this to say about their Mom:
"She made many sacrifices to make a difference in the lives of others," her daughter said.
"She made a difference in the lives of 12 orphans. She made a difference in the lives of
those who read her books and her stories, and were touched by their message. She made a
difference in the lives of orphans around the world that were adopted by couples who
read (her) stories and gave validation for adoption outside of their own race."
I also found this on Youtube this morning….This aired December 1954