Obituary of Doris Reid Moats

Doris Reid Moats, of Boise, Idaho, born on July 1, 1935 in Ketchum, Idaho, to the late Rebecca (Reba) Lindley (Callin) Reid and the late Thomas John Elliot Reid, passed away at age 82 on March 13, 2018 in Boise, Idaho, after a heart procedure.

Though Dorie, as she preferred to be called, grew up primarily in Ketchum, Idaho, she and her parents moved to Stanley, Challis, and finally to Salmon, Idaho, where her father Tom (Irish to his grandkids) owned and operated a full-service Mobile gas station and garage.

It was in Salmon, where Dorie met the love of her life, Larry Moats.  They were married October 22, 1952, in Butte, Montana. They were incredibly happily married, true soul mates, and partners in everything, for forty years.

Dorie and her husband, Larry lived in various places, due to Larry’s military service during the Korean War (at Salinas, CA & Fairbanks, AK), due to his job at Sunshine Mine (Wardner, ID), and because of his job with U.S. Fish and wildlife Service (Hagerman, ID).  However, they lived most of their lives together in Salmon.  After Larry passed on, she lived for a brief period of time, alone in Salmon, moving to Boise in 1994.

Though she may not have agreed with the label, Dorie was a true feminist and prided herself on doing anything a man could do. As a result, she hunted, fished, hiked, camped, rode horseback, when young, snowmobiled, rode trail-bikes, boated, and especially liked to swim.  She was also an accomplished artist, specializing in oil-painting landscapes. As well as being a feminist, Dorie was always very feminine. She was a true partner with Larry, when he took over the Mobile station.  She did the accounting and many other jobs there. She also was a constant partner in Larry’s outfitter and guide business, for big game hunting and for salmon and steelhead fishing. She did all of this while also being a full-time housewife.

She is preceded in death, by her parents, her husband, brother and sisters, aunts, uncles, cousins, a daughter-in-law, a granddaughter, three nephews, and a great-nephew.  She is survived her children: Michael (Galina) Moats of Troy, ID, Laurie (Roy) Harada of Meridian, ID, Jeff (Linda) Moats of Edmonds, WA, and Cristal (David) Kirkpatrick of Boise, ID, her grandchildren: Jeremy (Demoria) Sparrell, Matthew (Katie) Harada,  (Brodie) Niendorf, Michela (Jon) Barnett, Tristan Kirkpatrick, Matthew (Kelsey) Moats, Gabe Moats, Dan Kirkpatrick, Oxana Dimietrieva, Chelsea (Casey) Harada, 11 great-grandchildren, and a sister-in-law (Ilene Sorensen).  In addition to serving her role as biological mother, she also served as a surrogate for other children in the extended family, as well as to friends of her children.

As she wrote, in a testament of her last wishes, “[her] whole focus in life was the love of the Lord and her family.” Accordingly, she attended various churches, in her lifetime and was a member of Collister United Methodist Church, in Boise, at the time of her passing. She also served, for a period, as a pastoral councilor, and directed a Bible study, in her home, until shortly before her death.

Dorie is missed by many.  A celebration of her life will take place, in Boise, at Collister United Methodist Church on May 19 from 4PM to 6PM.  Further celebration will take place by the Salmon River, near Salmon, ID, on her birthday, July 1.  In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations to the Idaho Commission for the Blind or a charity of your choice.