Doris R. Stampone

It is with sorrow yet consoling relief that the family of Doris R. Stampone, age 93, of Wilmington, DE, announces her demise on January 6, 2021, at the nearby Churchman Village. A resident of said care facility for two years, she had experienced a slow decline from dementia, recently complicated by COVID-19.  

Doris Rosemary’s rich life began on March 9, 1927, in East Stroudsburg, PA, the daughter of Oscar and Leah (Fisher) Snyder. The strawberry blonde graduated from the town’s namesake high school in 1945 and attended the local (Pennsylvania) State Teachers College.

Doris met Ralph D. Stampone at a Charlie Barnet concert at Saylors Lake in Saylorsburg, PA. They lost contact for a while but were able to reconnect later; they married in 1955, and lived in Delaware Water Gap, PA, before moving to Union, NJ. When schoolteacher Ralph became a bilingual insurance executive, his assignments overseas afforded Doris the opportunity to live abroad in such locales as San Juan, Puerto Rico; Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic; and Madrid, Spain. Her world-view and arts appreciation grew, especially in the Spanish capital, where she often returned to the city’s Prado Museum and even took classes there. Through the years, Doris and Ralph enjoyed extensive travel together, savoring the respective cultures as they went.

The family moved to Wilmington in 1970, where Doris continued being a homemaker. She enjoyed opera and dance and regularly attended concerts at the historic Grand Theater. She remained a high-spirited, feisty presence to the end, though suffering from bad health conditions in later decades.  

Doris is survived by her loving husband of 65 years, Ralph; her sons, Daniel, of Newark, DE; and David, of Philadelphia, PA; her grandchildren, Allison, Daniel, Jr., and Andrew; her sisters-in-law, Kathleen and Mary; and many nieces and nephews, including her twin godchildren Amy Lee and Allan. She was predeceased by her big brothers, Oscar, Jr., and Gerald, and little sister, Janet.

In a private ceremony, she will be interred in the cemetery of St. James Episcopal Church, Mill Creek Hundred (Wilm., DE), where Doris was a parishioner for the past 50 years.

A memorial service and celebration of Doris Rosemary’s life is tentatively scheduled for March 26; details will follow here on the website of Doherty Funeral Homes.

The family wishes to thank the staff of Churchman Village and the hospice nurses of Bayada for their care, as well as all friends and family for their warm, welcome condolences. 

Donations in her memory may be made to the Dementia Society of America at PO Box 600, Doylestown, PA 18901, or online at www.DementiaSociety.org/donate. 

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