Abiatha Doss

Funeral services for Abiatha Doss, 79, formerly of Junction City, KS will be 11 a.m., Friday, January 12, 2007 at Penwell-Gabel Mass-Hinitt Chapel with Reverend Theodore Beasley officiating. Burial will follow at Fort Riley Cemetery. Visitation will be from 10 a.m. until time of service at the chapel. Mrs. Doss passed away January 6, at Schowalter Villa in Hesston, Kansas. In lieu of flowers the family has requested that donations be sent to the Disabled American Veterans Auxiliary – Pearl Harbor Chapter #16, in c/o Christine Cornelius, 1309 Brighton Road, Manhattan, KS 66503.

Born to John and Cherry Bynum on August 8, 1927, Mrs. Doss was raised on a farm in Emerson, Arkansas. She attended Noxubee Elementary School, Magnolia Colored High School and subsequently completed 2 years of college at AM & N University in Pine Bluff, Arkansas.


In January of 1952 she married Curtis Doss, also of Emerson, Arkansas and that same year was blessed with their first child, Cyril; followed by Curtis Jr. in 1955, Cynthia Rene' in 1957 and Renate' Cherry in 1959. Her husband's Army career included several tours of duty in Germany and allowed the family to travel to numerous European countries including France, Austria, Switzerland, Holland, Denmark, Luxembourg and Belgium.

Upon returning to the United States in 1968, the Doss family settled in Junction City, Kansas. After successfully raising her children, Mrs. Doss completed a Bachelor of Science degree in Education followed by a Masters degree in Reading Curricula. For thirteen years, Mrs. Doss taught for Unified School District #475 at Fort Riley Elementary School and Grandview Plaza Elementary School.

Over the years, Mrs. Doss was active in her church and various community service organizations including Church of Our Savior United Methodist, Lions Club International, The American Red Cross, Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, American Association of University Women, and Disabled American Veterans Auxiliary - having held offices at the local and state level.

Mrs. Doss is survived by her husband Curtis Sr.; sons Cyril and Curtis Jr.; daughters Cynthia and Renate'; brother Johnie Bynum; and sisters Naliza Linley, Virginia Cooks and Willie Mae Kimmons. As an educator, civic leader, consummate homemaker, wife, mother and friend, she will be dearly missed.