Dorothy Lois (Perrin) Speicher, age 87, passed from this life on March 12, 2015. She was born and raised in Knoxville, TN, to Annie Laurie (Case) Perrin and Roy Stone Perrin. As a young child she was extremely shy but she adored her time at school where she was nearly always a straight-A student. As a youngster, she would love to play up on the mountain side on Sharp's Ridge collecting flowers. She graduated from Knoxville High School. In her young adult years, she was employed at the Knoxville Utility Board and later accepted a position at ORNL and Y-12 as a stenographer where she took an early medical retirement in 1960. Special friends include Alice Montgomery, Dot Storey, Charlotte Smith and Urban Greubel. Her favorite hobbies were oil painting and playing her organ. She was a delightful conversationalist who enjoyed ideas and subjects of all kinds, but mostly those that were related to the Bible and its interpretation as well as metaphysical and political discussions. She was an avid reader and loved her books. In the early 1960's, she was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosisand not long afterinitiated the first (and then a second) successful city-wide Multiple Sclerosis campaign in Oak Ridge. She was a Cold War Patriot and spent many years in the midst of chemicals where she worked, unprotected from their dangers and which werein the family's opinionthe root cause of her long term disabilities. She immensely enjoyed the many family dinners while attending concerts and plays were always a special treat for her. Her husbands preceded her in death. Surviving is one sister, Margaret Ann (Perrin) Harris (Oak Ridge, TN); two daughters: Lois Elaine (Harris) Thurston (Clinton, TN); Rhonda Eve Harris-Tamez (Evansville, IN); son-in-law, Lonnie (husband of Lois), who willingly and lovingly shared caregiving duties for 12 years; grandchildren: Laurie Grayson (David) (Oakdale,TN); Andrew Thurston (Clinton, TN) and John Tamez (Cathleen) (Evansville, IN). Great-grandchildren: Miss Jordan Thurston (Clinton,TN), Aaron and Kayla Tamez (Evansville, IN); nieces: Karen Andersen (Sven) (Oneonta, NY), and Janet Whittlesey (Stevenson, WA).
The family will receive friends Monday, March 16, 2015 from 10-11 AM at Grace Lutheran Church in Oak Ridge. Service will be held at 11:00AM with Rev. Dr. Steve Damos officiating. Interment will follow at Anderson Memorial Gardens. Holley-Gamble Funeral Home in Clinton is in charge of all arrangements. www.holleygamblefh.com