Doris Simkin Waller

Doris Levy Simkin Waller, 90, died April 5, 2022, at Terova Senior Living in Mequon, Wisconsin. Doris was born on Aug. 24, 1931, in Saarbrucken, Saar. She emigrated with her family in 1935 and settled near family in Natchez, MS. Her parents established the “L” Grocery in downtown Natchez.

Doris graduated from Natchez High School and earned a B.A. from Sophie Newcomb College in New Orleans, LA. Doris worked in New York City after college and then settled in Chicago, IL.

Doris enjoyed traveling, theater and the arts. Doris worked in retail marketing for many years. Doris volunteered with a few organizations for decades, as an usher with the Chicago Saints for theater, opera, and symphony performances in Chicago and for select political candidates in election years.

Doris was twice honored during 15 years as a volunteer with the American Red Cross in Chicago. A Holocaust and International Tracer, Doris worked to reunite refugee families across the world who had been separated by war. Doris searched for information regarding Holocaust survivors, and also helped to deliver Red Cross messages during the Bosnian war, and conflicts in Africa and the Far East.

Doris will be remembered especially for her warmth and genuine interest in the people around her. She welcomed relatives and close friends as family, enriching all with her presence, humor, and generosity. Doris is survived by her children, Rick Simkin, Donna Glassman Moeckler (Jim), Roane Simkin (Robert); granddaughters, Ariele Glassman and Aviva Glassman and great-granddaughter.

Doris was preceded in death by her parents, Ernst and Hede (Katz) Levy; brother, Gert (Evelyn) Levy and husbands, J. Bernard Simkin and Irving Waller.

Services and burial were held April 8, 2022, at Westlawn Cemetery in Chicago.

Memorials to the American Red Cross, HIAS, or the World Wildlife Fund, would have been appreciated most by Doris.