Harold Doty

(From Thornhill-Dillon Mortuary)

Harold “Hal” Doty, age 94, of Carl Junction, Missouri, passed away at his home on Saturday, July 1, 2017.

Harold was born October 27, 1922 in Bismarck, North Dakota, to Harold W. and Josephine (Kozenek) Doty. In 1929, he moved to Pittsburg, Kansas, and he graduated from Pittsburg High School in 1939. Hal attended Pittsburg State University for two years and following graduation from Northwestern University, he was commissioned as an officer in the U.S. Naval Amphibious Forces. Hal served aboard both the USS Storm King and USS Freestone, participating in five invasions and the occupation of Nagasaki, Japan. 

He was discharged in 1946 and on May 9, 1947, he was united in marriage to Ruth Marie Trabue in Oswego, Kansas. His beloved wife preceded him in death on December 12, 2015. Hal was employed by Foodtown Super Markets for 22 years, where he served as Board Member and President.
In 1972, he and Ruth moved to the Joplin area and purchased the Jasper County Title Company. This business was sold in 1978 and for the next 30 years, the couple spent six months of each year traveling in their R.V., mostly in the Western U.S., Canada, and Alaska.

Hal was a past member of the Joplin Rotary Club and he also held memberships in the Maricopa County Lapidary Society and the Arizona Gem Carvers, where he learned to be an accomplished stone carver.

Survivors include his three children, Rick Doty and wife, Diane, of Roseville, California, Dr. Keith Doty and wife, Kelly, of Portland, Oregon, and Jo Lynn Arnold and husband, Tom, of Estes Park, Colorado; five grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren.

The family would like to extend a sincere thanks to a very loving caregiver, Virginia Ward, for her care and dedication to Hal and Ruth during their times of need.

A celebration of life will be held by the family at a later date. In honor of Hal’s memory, the family requests contributions be made to the Ruth M. Trabue Doty Scholarship Fund at Pittsburg State University. Arrangements are under the personal care and direction of Thornhill-Dillon Mortuary, Joplin, Missouri.