Doris M. Dalbey, 94, of Mount Dora, Florida, died Wednesday, July 1, 2015, at Lake Harris Health Center in Leesburg, Florida. Doris was born February 19, 1921, in Spencer, North Carolina, the youngest of five children to Walter Carl and Alice Mendenhall. She grew up in Spencer and graduated from Catawba College in Salisbury, North Carolina. She met Robert Sackett of Springfield, Illinois, during World War II while Mr. Sackett was stationed in North Carolina. They married in Spencer on June 20, 1947, and Doris moved to Springfield, Illinois.

While living in Springfield, Doris was a member of Douglas Avenue Methodist Church where she taught Sunday School classes and led Girl Scout groups. Mrs. Dalbey taught in Springfield Public Schools for 20 years, primarily at Grant Junior High. She always took a personal interest in her students and encouraged them to achieve their goals. Doris loved to garden and brought plants from her childhood home in North Carolina to Illinois and enjoyed sharing her plants with friends.

Robert Sackett predeceased Doris in 1968. Doris was blessed with two happy marriages in her life, marrying Orvis N. Dalbey of Springfield, Illinois in 1976. Upon retirement, they moved to Mount Dora, Florida, in 1978. Mr. Dalbey predeceased Doris in 1998.

Doris was an active member of First United Methodist Church of Mount Dora. She was also involved in the local women's and gardening clubs. Doris never met a stranger and took great delight in her family and friends, even keeping in touch with childhood friends until her passing.

Surviving are her daughters, Carolyn (Curt) Neitzke, of Chatham, Illinois, and Cindy (Mark) Humphreville, of Wilmington, North Carolina; and her grandson, Alex S. Humphreville, of Brooklyn, New York. Additionally, she is survived by her stepdaughters, Joan Stickley, of Ocean City, Maryland, and Mary Lou (Dave) Brent, of Springfield, Illinois, and a stepson, Noel (Mary Pat) Dalbey, of Springfield, Illinois, and each of their families.

In Mount Dora, Florida, visitation will be Tuesday, July 7, 2015, from 2pm to 4 pm, with a funeral service at 4 pm, all at Allen J. Harden Funeral Home, 1800 North Donnelly Street in Mount Dora. In Springfield, Illinois, visitation will be Thursday, July 9, 2015 from 1pm to 2 pm at Bisch Funeral home, 2931 Koke Mill Road, Springfield, Illinois. A graveside service will be held at 3:30 pm at Zion Cemetery in Cotton Hill Township (Pawnee), Illinois.

In lieu of flowers, memorial gifts may be made to Central United Methodist Church, 200 4th Street, Spencer, NC 28159, or to The Catawba Fund, Catawba College, 2300 W. Innes Street, Salisbury, NC 28144 (catawba.edu)