Doris Sullens Witt

Doris Sullens Witt passed away peacefully at Menorah Medical Center surrounded by family on the evening of October 19, 2023 of complications following a broken hip. She was 93 years old. 

Doris Irene Kendall, the third of four children, was born Dec. 7, 1929, to Orval and Ina Baker Kendall, residing on a farm near the small town of Latimer, Kansas. Her great grandparents William Marion and Nancy Magdilla Burton Walter had homesteaded a large acreage in the Clark's Creek area near Latimer, Kansas in the 1850s. They passed on a love of the land to succeeding generations. At the death of her father Orval Kendall in 1976, Doris managed the farm for twenty-five years. Preceding her in death were her mother, Ina Baker Kendall; her sister Faye Garten of Medicine Lodge, KS; and brothers Dr. O. Kenneth Kendall of Yreka, California and Dr. Leland Dale Kendall of Penn Valley, California. 

Doris attended Kansas State University and received her medical technology certification from St. Luke's Hospital in 1951. 

In 1950 she was married to James Leonard Sullens and had three children, Jeff Sullens of Kansas City, MO; Diana Sullens Grabau of Overland Park, KS; and Gary Sullens (Kim) of Manhattan, KS, and five grandchildren—Ellen, Mike, Sara, Melissa, and Carrie. She returned to St. Luke's in 1969 and worked in the Chemistry Lab for twenty-one years. After the death of husband Jim Sullens in 1979, she married Ernest Witt in 1986 and acquired two step-daughters, Melanie Witt Lewis and Roxanne Witt Celesky and three step-grandchildren—Josie, Jemimah, and Fox. 

Ernie passed away in 2012 from multiple myeloma, a form of cancer Doris had worked extensively with in the laboratory. Facing a second widowhood and decreasing eyesight from macular degeneration and following two corneal transplants for somewhat better vision, Doris went on two exciting tours to Ireland and Wales. Doris enjoyed sewing and crafts in her earlier years, and she and Ernie enjoyed traveling and attending concerts and lectures at various institutions. Most of all, she loved being a mother and providing a warm and welcoming home and heart for all in her family. 

Doris was a member of Chapter HF of PEO, and had many wonderful, lifelong friends who she treasured greatly. 

Doris's sweet nature, constant love, and firm commitment to the good of her family made her a beloved and cherished wife, mother, sister, step-mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, and aunt. Her gracious example lives on in her loved ones.