Doris B. Durand

Celebrating 93 well-lived years, we wish to honor our beloved mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, aunt, and friend, Doris Durand. On Sunday, January 1, 2023, the beautiful chapter of her earthly life peacefully came to a close. She hoped to be remembered for bringing peace and love to all the lives she touched. Doris’s quiet compassion and wisdom had a rippling and lasting effect that clearly marked a path for us to follow. Her faith and trust in God never wavered. Her deep and genuine faith was reflected in everything she did. The Blessed Mother Mary was her role model and it is no coincidence that she went to Heaven on the feast day of the Mother of God. Her capacity to love was infinite and many referred to her as mom. There was an abundance of love for everyone. Throughout her life, Doris’s family was always pivotal. She had a special relationship with every one of her five children. She found a way to make each of her children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren feel like they were special and unique. She was devoted to her husband Leo for sixty-two years and cared for him unconditionally in his last years of illness until he passed. Doris was born in New Bedford, MA, but moved to Pelham, NY, as a young child. She graduated from St. Gabriel’s High School in 1946 and went on to attend and graduate from St. Mary’s Nursing School in Brooklyn, NY. She met Leo and they were married in 1952. They moved to Long Island where they built their home in Oceanside and raised their five children. She began her nursing career during the difficult time of the polio epidemic where she cared for many polio patients. She later had a long career at South Nassau Community Hospital in Oceanside, NY where she worked as a cardiac care nurse and a recovery room nurse. In addition, she privately cared for patients and friends who needed special care outside of the hospital. Doris was passionate about all her patients and tenderly cared for each. She became the Girl Scout leader of Troop #2245 at St. Anthony’s where she had 40 girls in her troop. She taught them many things over the years and invested in each one of them. A recurring theme in her life was that she always made you feel special individually. Even today the grown women who had her as a leader still comment on how she impacted and inspired them. Doris touched everyone she met. Many called her mom or their second mom. She always asked questions about your life and listened carefully so she could ask later how things were going. She turned people’s problems or concerns into her daily prayers. Even those she only met for a brief time felt loved and accepted by her. She made everyone feel like family and those bonds were forever. She had a wonderful sense of humor and made us all laugh a lot. She coined many funny comments we will never forget. For the last seven years of her life she lived in Columbia, SC, where she was lovingly cared for by her devoted daughter, Laura, and her family. These years were a gift to our whole family because she was able to spend quality time with her children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. Doris was preceded in death by her husband Leo and youngest son Peter, her mother, father, sisters, and brother. She is survived by her son Richard Durand (Amy), daughters Pamela Agresti (Robert), Laura Marino (Robert), and Janice Marie Durand (Peter Goodman), and grandchildren Joy Kirk (Jono), Timothy Durand, Emily Durand, Jeremy Durand, Allison Agresti (Kevin Bretz), Benjamin Agresti, Hope Agresti, Diana VonPlinsky (Allen), Daniel Marino (Justina Siuba), Andrew Marino, and Tyler Goodman, and great-grandchildren Judah Kirk, Emma, Foster, and Lucy Von Plinsky. She was the best mother, grandmother, and friend a person could ever ask for. She loved us so well and we are forever changed because of her inspiration, faith, and love. She accepted and welcomed all and never judged anyone, a true example of Christ’s love. She will be greatly missed by all who knew her. Her beautiful legacy will be with our family for generations to come. Rest well, Mommy. Services are being handled by Towers Funeral Home, 2681 Long Beach Road, Oceanside, New York, 11572. A Mass of Christian burial will be held at 9:45 am on Monday, January 9, 2023, at St Anthony's RC Church, 110 Anchor Ave, Oceanside, NY. Burial will be in Calverton National Cemetery, Calverton on Monday, January 9, 2023, at 12 pm. Calling hours will be Sunday, January 8, 2023, from 3 - 6 pm at Towers Funeral Home Inc., 2681 Long Beach Road, Oceanside, New York, 11572.