Doris Felici, a multi-talented artist, stylist, gentle feminist, fashion plate, and devoted daughter, wife and mother passed away peacefully on March 13. Her birth in 1925 clearly overshadowed other events of the year including the dedication of Mt. Rushmore, the publishing of The Great Gatsby, and the release of Ben Hur.

While she blithely ignored Lindberg’s transatlantic flight, it has been rumored that the Empire State building was completed in time to commemorate her attending 1^st grade. The birth of her first son (William) barely a year after the end of World War II ranked equally as momentous in her heart, followed a few years later by the birth of her second beloved son (Lee).

She and her family moved to Chardon, Ohio, in 1954. Soon finding herself a single mother, Doris did what she always did: she created her own path and her own magic. She learned the craft of hair styling and soon was highly sought by fashionably savvy women throughout the county.

Even as she became a spirited and successful entrepreneur, she kept her family first in her heart. She was enormously patient with her two very different sons and overwhelmingly supportive in everything they did. (What other mother would say “Sure” to a son who wants to set it up an old 2,000-gallon gasoline tank in the backyard as a mock spaceship?) She was strong-minded and loving, effervescent and funny.

She met and married Armand Felici, the man of her dreams—an Italian, of course—not long after the Beatles performed “I Want to Hold Your Hand” on the Ed Sullivan show, and she and Armand held hands to the end of her days on Earth.

She opened her own hair salon, The Front Parlour, as her sons went off to college and shortly thereafter began teaching her craft at North High School in Eastlake. Always involved in the community, Doris volunteered with the Geauga Unit of the American Cancer Society and oversaw the wig clinic at Vanity Station Hair Salon in support of cancer patients.

Of Italian and Welsh heritage, she knew a bargain when she saw it—especially if it was either an antique or a Longaberger basket—and could probably have taught Mario Batali a thing or two about Italian cuisine if she hadn’t retired and moved on to designing quilts and hooking rugs. She was president of the Western Reserve Rug Hookers Guild until she retired from retiring, but continued hooking until St. Peter asked her to bring her love, talents and skills to the hereafter.

She was preceded through the Pearly Gates by her Mother, Angela, her father, Vernon, and her brother, Leroy. She is survived by the love of her life, Armand, her two kind and caring sons Bill and Lee, and the hundreds of friends near and far that she gifted with her knowledge, love, and joyfulness throughout the years. Visitation will be held Saturday April 8, 2017, at Burr Funeral Home, 116 South Street, (St. Rt. 44, 500′ south of Rt. 6/Chardon Square) Chardon from 10am to Noon, followed by a short service at noon.