Susan Doty

Susan Doty, 81, of Oskaloosa, passed away Sunday, April 20, 2025, at Northern Mahaska Nursing and Rehab Center. Susan Patricia Doty, daughter of George and Leota (Hinderman) Peck, was born on June 4, 1943, in Oakland, California. Her father was a carpenter building ships for the Navy during WWII, and after the war was over, the family returned home to Fairfax, Minnesota. Susan’s parents tragically died when she was a young woman, and she went to live with her older sister, Kay, in Collinsville, TX, while in high school. Susan furthered her education at North Texas State University in Denton, TX, earning her BS in Home Economics with an emphasis on Dietetics. After serving her internship year at the University of Minnesota Hospital in Minneapolis, she began working as a dietician at a hospital in Houston, TX. It was on a return bus trip from Minnesota that Susan was rescued from a lecherous passenger by her future husband, John Doty, a young GI about to be deployed to Vietnam. A year of correspondence between Susan and John served as their courtship, and they were married on September 14, 1966, in her sister’s living room by her Methodist Church minister brother-in-law shortly after John returned to the States. The Army sent John to Germany, and Susan joined him soon after. The couple lived on base in Germany for five years, where they were blessed with the birth of their only child, David John. After John was discharged, the family returned to the United States and lived briefly in Augusta, Georgia, before settling back in Iowa. They made their home in Oskaloosa, and Susan worked as a dietician at Mahaska County Hospital for a short time before going to work at Pella Corp in the Wood Plant. She worked there until her retirement as a floor manager in 1999. Susan was a responsible and organized employee, but her true passion was her first passion – home economics – especially cooking and baking. Her kitchen was meticulously organized, and her cookbook collection was enormous. She loved cooking for her family. She and her sister, Myrna, were so passionate about homemaking that they started the blog “The Iowa Housewife.” She also enjoyed crocheting and painting the Santas John had carved. Her family includes her son, David (Michelle) Doty of Knoxville; granddaughter, Cissa (Laura) Dahm-Howard; grandson, Joshua Doty; two step-grandsons, Chris (Julia) Van Leeuwen and Shawn (Kaela) Van Leeuwen; and a step-great-grandson, Logan; and many nieces and nephews. In addition to her parents, Susan was preceded in life by her beloved husband, John, just 38 days before her death, and two sisters: Kathleen “Kay” Stone and Myrna Panno. A memorial service for Susan will be held at 2 p.m., Saturday, May 17, 2025, at Langkamp Funeral Chapel, with Pastor Leo Freel of the Cross Roads Gospel Church in Knoxville officiating. Burial will be held privately in Forest Cemetery. The family will greet visitors from 1-2 p.m. before the service on Saturday. Memorial contributions can be made to Care Initiatives Hospice.

Susan Doty

June 4, 1943 - April 20, 2025