Doris Soule

Doris May (Van Beek) Soule, 85, San Antonio, TX, passed away on Thursday, July 6, 2023, at a private care facility in San Antonio after a long battle with Alzheimer’s.

A memorial service will be held at 10:00 a.m., Saturday, August 5, 2023, at Parkway Funeral Service, 2330 Tyler Pkwy, Bismarck, ND 58503.

Burial will be in the Glencoe Cemetery, Emmons County, ND 58544.

Doris was born on July 5, 1938, just after midnight on the family farm in a small Dutch community south of Bismarck, ND, the daughter of Gilbert and Lydia Van Beek. Her father called her a “late firecracker.” Doris took high school by correspondence and then attended a teacher’s college in Ellendale, ND. After graduation she taught at small rural schools and then a school in Jamestown, ND. It was during this time that she met her husband, Milton Soule, on a blind date. They married on June 16, 1961.

After living in and around Bismarck for several years, the family moved to Cavalier, ND, where they continued to live until Milton’s death in 1982. Doris went back to school in Wahpeton, ND, to become a Medical Record Technician and then settled in Morris, MN, where she lived until her retirement. She spend most of her retirement years near her sister in Wheatland, WY.

She spent a lot of time studying American history, specifically the Civil War, and teaching community education classes about the war. She also enjoyed writing, traveling, and taking pictures of her grandchildren.

Doris is survived by two sons, Hugh (Charmaine) Soule and Les (Janis) Soule; one daughter, Noelle (Mike) Melito, and nine grandchildren: Rachel, Jarod, Nathan, Joel, Kyle, Zach, and Tyler Melito, and Rebekah and Elizabeth Soule.

She was predeceased by her parents; her husband; Milton; and her sister, Joanne.