Doris Boyd McGehee

Doris Boyd McGehee, age 92, passed away at her home in Starkville, MS on Sunday, March 18, 2018.

Doris was born in 1925 in Hamilton, Mississippi to parents Hazel Annette Kendrick Boyd and James Marcus Boyd. She was the oldest of nine children.

She graduated from Hamilton High School and moved to Itta Bena, Miss. where she worked as a bookkeeper while attending college.

There she met and married the father of her three children, Lois Annette McGehee Carlisle, Larry Neil McGehee, and Patricia (Patty) Boyd McGehee Newsom. Doris and Neil moved to Greenwood, where they nurtured their three children in a loving, Christian home. Doris resided in Greenwood from 1946 until 1992.

In the 1960s, she began working for the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) recording grades of cotton. With a strong work ethic and determination, she returned to school to learn how to class cotton for the USDA. Doris was a pioneer for women in the field of classing cotton, becoming one of the first two women in the United States to become a Cotton Classer for the USDA. Doris' love for cotton and textiles, along with her gift and talent for intricate needlework and sewing led to her owning the Fabric Shop in downtown Greenwood. She designed and sewed magnificent custommade draperies for customers, which included antebellum home-owners, banks, Chamber of Commerce offices, funeral homes, and private residences throughout the South.

In Greenwood, she was an active member of the Extension Service Home Demonstration Club, Beta Sigma Phi Sorority, Chamber of Commerce, Downtown Merchants Association, and various bridge clubs. She also served as a volunteer for the American Cancer Society, Girl Scouts, 4-H, and Suicide Prevention Awareness