Doris West Thank you for everything

We thank Doris West's son Patrick for providing us with Doris's
obituary. It will appear in the March 14 and March 18 publications of
annarbor.com.

WEST, Doris H. (Barnard). Born in Enderlin, North Dakota in 1917,
Doris and her family moved to Monrovia, CA where she attended school,
graduating from Monrovia High School. She married in 1935, living in
Texas, Oklahoma, Alaska, and Washington before moving to Michigan in
1956, where she worked for the Bureau of Government Library at the
University of Michigan until her retirement in 1983.

Doris is survived by her children Gerald (in AZ), Sheila (in GA),
Diane (in WA), and Patrick (in MI). She was predeceased by a daughter
Helen. She leaves 9 grand children and 7 great grand children.

Doris never drove a car.

She used a tricycle for her local transportation for 38 years.

During the gas crisis, her tricycle bore the sign

"My 'CAR'. NO Gas".

Doris was an active member of the Ann Arbor cycling world. She served
on the Mayor's Bicycle Coordinating Committee, and worked to make
biking accessible to beginners, leading bike rides in Ann Arbor and
working to improve bike paths. She rode in PALM (Pedal Across Lower
Michigan, a week long bike ride across Lower Michigan) for many
years, where she was usually one of the oldest people on the ride.
She even went to Great Britain to pick up a trike with better gearing
and spent several weeks riding the roads in England on the new trike.

Interested in learning about plants, people, and the exact meaning of
a word, she kept 3 unabridged dictionaries well used. She had many an
interesting story to tell and had a quotation for any situation.

In her 80's, when breathing difficulties arose, she became part of a
University of Michigan pulmonary rehab program in which she learned
to play a harmonica. The harmonica group joined together in music and
laughter to build lung power for more effective breathing. After she
moved to Brecon Village in Saline, she became known for her impromptu
"Happy Birthday" harmonica serenades for other residents.

Doris passed away February 24, 2010 at 92 years of age. A memorial
will be held in the meeting room at Brecon Village in Saline, 200
Brecon Dr, Saline, 48176 on March 20th at 3 p.m. The family invites
you to come to share your memories.

Memorial donations may be made in Doris's name to PALM, PO Box
7161, Ann Arbor, MI 48107.