What ever happened to Don Doss?




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. 

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


34 comments:

Karen Mortensen said...

What wonderful people.

Connie said...

This is so interesting! Thanks for posting it. Those parents are amazing.

Richard said...

I remember Don well since he was a celebrity, Danny Guisinger (he ran up huge long distance bills calling his girlfriend in Lompoc. His favorite song was Walk Like a Man), Don Bollinger who married one of the King sisters in our ward, I believe, joined the Church and raised a family in the 9th Ward. We also had a Japaese student named Hideki. After the college student era, mom moved me and John out to the "extra" bedroom and installed a long list of missionaries out there including Elder Bennee and Elder Minton, two of my favorites. Often when the Elders came home at 9, John and I would break out the Risk game and play with them. Of course, we were frequently their companions for splits when the Stake Missionaries bailed. We were 10 and 14 at the time.

We had people staying with us for about 8 years. That house cost $17,500 in 1960 so ithe extras helped with the mortgage. Good thing there were only 8 kids in the family so we had plenty of room for boarders in that 2000 sq ft house.

Richard said...

You could be a detective.

Anonymous said...

So was Don another race? Or did she actually give birth to him? What a great story!
darlene

Grandma Honey said...

Richard…So THAT was why I grew up hearing Walk Like a Man…..I even did a blog post on that song once. I do remember Danny Guisinger, but not as well as you do. I think Hideki was the one Dad picked up from Triple J Drugs that day and he asked him, "Have you been waiting long." and he said, "Yes." Just like that. Dad gave me a lesson in cultural differences. I thought that guy was rude for answering like that but Dad said from where he came from he was just being honest. Perhaps we learned more from all those boarders than we realized at the time.

Grandma Honey said...

Darlene….Don was the first they adopted Then they branched out to other nationalities. I still have some letters Don's mother wrote to my Mom. She would write about how tough and hard life was raising all those children with so little money.

Whitney Jay said...

I love reading these stories so much!

Anonymous said...

Darling video clip, I love her curtsy!
-carly

sharondoss@comcast.net said...

Hi I am Don's wife Sharon. We met in 1966 and married in 1966. Married 51 and 1/2 years now. Helen passed away in April 2013. We have 3 grandchildren now.

Unknown said...

Hello: I'm Don's wife Sharon. We met in 1966 and married in 1966. We have been married 51 and 1/2 years now. We have 3 grandchildren. Our daughter has lived in Australia for 25 years. Helen passed away in April 2013. No children were adopted from Japan, Brazil or India. They were all adopted from the US. Thank you for the photo of Don. It's one I have never seen before. What were your parent's names? What is your first name? Thank you.

Grandma Honey said...

So good to hear from you Sharon! My parents names are Richard and Gaynor Rozier. Don lived with us (I was about 9 years old back then) while he was attending Fresno State University. My first name is Jill. I wonder if Don remembers any of us??

Unknown said...

Hi Jill: Unfortunately Don has a very bad memory of things long ago. He has always been this way. So he doesn't remember your family. But he does remember living at your home. He worked and went to school so his mind was focusing on those things. We will both be 76 soon. Thank you for the lovely photo of your grandchildren. Are they twins? Don's father Carl passed away in April 1994. Three of his brothers have passed away as well. We are in contact with all of his remaining siblings. Most of them live in Southern Cal and one lives in Oregon and we are in Northern Cal. We hope to have a family reunion next year down south. Lovely to chat with you. Don has an interesting family and he loves them all very much.

Grandma Honey said...

I love how you both are in contact with all Don's remaining siblings! What a very diverse and interesting way to grow up. We are still in the Fresno area. If you are ever up this way please let us know.

Yes, we have twin grandchildren who are actually 9 now. I guess I should update our photo! My Mom also had twins in 1965....I'm guessing a year or two after Don moved away from our home. Would he happen to remember how long he lived with us? I know the photo above of Don and my sister was taken in 1963 I think, but have no idea how long he was with us. Having him with us was such a prominent memory from my childhood.

Unknown said...

Hi Jill: Don thinks he stayed at your home about a year. We live in Sonoma County which is where I met him in January 1966. But we lived several other places before we came back home 5 years ago. So twins run in your family. Don has 2 siblings that are his age, so they were called the "Triplets" . Then he has 4 siblings that are the same age and they were called the "Quads." Funny.

Grandma Honey said...

I remember his mom talking on Groucho Marx show about all her kids who were the same ages. I suppose you knew his Mom quite well, right? I'd love to know about her. She must have been a very remarkable woman.

Unknown said...

I was Donald's 3rd grade teacher in Boonville CA. He was a good happy student. His father Rev. Doss married me to my husband 63 years ago today. Regards to the family

Grandma Honey said...

Amazing!!! Thank you for reaching out. And congratulations on your anniversary!

Yvonne Stoll said...

I have read The Family Nobody Wanted, A Brother The Size of Me & The Really Real Family. I own copies of all of them. My favorite book as a child was The Really Real Family. I probably checked it out of the library over 20 times. As an adult I checked it out numerous times. As libraries started having book sales I asked my library to save it for me. They did & that is how I got my copy. It is my all time favorite book and I really cherish it.

Grandma Honey said...

Thank you for your comment Yvonne. Now I want to find a copy of the Really Real Family. It's out of print on Amazon but I will look elsewhere. They were quite a remarkable family. Thank you for taking the time to tell me about her other 2 books. I had no idea.

Unknown said...

I have a copy of The Really Real Family and it has Helen Doss writing a inscription in it to Diane and Elaine. I treasure this book since it is out of print and I am sure nobody has a signed copy of it.

Sharon said...

Hi: This is Sharon again Don's wife. Oh the inscription that Helen wrote to Diane and Elaine was to my two sister in laws who were adopted from Hawaii. That is a lovely momento to have. To the lady who said she was Don's teacher in Boonville, can you tell me your name and if you still live in Boonville? My sister in law Diane and I visited Boonville back in October 2017. She wanted to see the Methodist Church where her father had been the pastor. A lovely lady named Mary who was in charge of the church opened the church doors for us and had a scrapebook she showed us and we had a lovely visit with her or over an hour.

sudi said...

Hi everyone... I'm Diane S. Doss. I'm the curly hair Hawaiian girl in the book "The Really Real Family". Hugs to you all.

Unknown said...

I have the book of The Really Real Family signed by Helen Doss. I also have The Family Nobody wanted and A Brother the Size of Me. I got started reading her books after ordering The Family Nobody Wanted from the Scholastic Books when I was in 7th grade, around 1967 and still have that book but have ordered different ones since then that are hard covered.

Karen said...

I read The Family Nobody Wanted when I was a child. Around that same time my aunt adopted my cousin from Korea, and I decided I would adopt one day. When I met my future husband, I told him of that decision, basically drawing the line for him to cross or not cross if he wanted to marry me. In 2007, my husband and I and two of our children adopted four children from Ethiopia. Today I'm writing our story because I was asked to speak about it. I remembered how this book inspired me, so I was doing a little searching online for it when I came across this chat. Thank you, Doss Family, for sharing your story; yours is definitely part of our own.

Grandma Honey said...

I would LOVE to read your story after your get it written. Hopefully you will try to publish it. So are your youngest 4 children teenagers now? Wow, FOUR from Ethiopia. Do you keep a blog?

Anonymous said...

I first read the Doss Family story in 6th grade. During that school year I read it everyday. It remains my favorite story of all! I have recommended it to people I know and it can be found in Public Library systems. I'm glad Mrs. Doss shared their story. We are richer for having read it.

Anonymous said...

I’m reading “The Family Nobody Wanted” for the first time right now, and I love it! I grew up in a large family (9 kids), but we are all from the same parents. Helen Doss writes so well! Plus her calm demeanor, and her easy-going take on life make this a joyful read. I would love to know how all the kids are doing now. They really are so lucky!

Anonymous said...

Hello it’s ELizabeth from Australia I believe Carl was my Dad Hugh’s cousin
(Some connection)if I remember correctly
I can remember receiving a large box of dresses coming from my Grandma Ila
All beautiful as hand me downs from this family if my memory is correct
Loved the book

Grandma Honey said...

How very interesting Elizabeth! What a special memory. Do you remember hearing much about the family back in the day?

Unknown said...

Hello
My name is Ricky Robinson I am Richard Dosses oldest son and I just ran across this link and I have learned about these two books today I didn't know that much about the Doss family because I was also adopted out as a baby and I am trying to learn more about them I would love to read the really real family and brother the size of me I do remember hearing that it was written about my dad Richard and uncle Don.if anyone knows where I can obtain a copy to read I would appreciate it so much and it would help me fill this gap in my life and I learned more about part my family that I never had the privilege of being part of growing up.
Thank you all for your posts and I wish you all the best in life
Love Ricky Robinson.

Anonymous said...

I read this book as a tween (I am 68) and it remains one of my favorite accounts, but why did Helen have to act like a nincompoop on Marx’s show? She was anything but. How could she agree to do that?

Tricia Carr said...

Hi all, I read this book many years ago and was so impressed, not only with the story but with how well it was written. If it isn't too wrong to ask, why did Helen and Carl divorce? I was stunned when I read that on the internet. Regardless, blessing on everyone here and especially the family connections! And thank you for sharing your memories, and big thanks to Don's wife for sharing her knowledge. :)

sudi said...

Donald Owen Doss Passed away Octber of 2022. He was 80 yrs old.

Look what happened last night

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