Doris and Her Cast of Thousands
Compiled by
Carla Dedolph
and
Irma Henson
Doris Denny is a household name in many Lakeside casas, especially if the inhabitants are bridge players. She’s known for her bridge playing prowess that has left more than a few of her opponents wondering
what just hit them.
Also, Doris has acquired the title of the One Woman Welcome Wagon. She’s brought many people to Lakeside, a place she dearly loves, as well as assisting in helping newcomers become acquainted with their new-found area. She’s not happy when she sees people who are alone and looking a bit forlorn, in a new situation. Quickly, she comes to their rescue with a helping hand and an invitation to join her at her table, should she be dining in a restaurant.
Many folks, when gathered in social settings, will fondly speak of the person who most likely brought them all together: Doris. She connected us with each other. She was born on Nov. 30, 1937, in Lebanon, KY, the daughter of parents who were fairly conservative in nature. Her father set out to be a Baptist minister but instead became a federal probate judge for eastern Kentucky. That place in Kentucky, Doris remarked, was “The Badass Capitol of the World.”
Her father also had a Navy career so Doris, in her youth, spent time in Port Washington, Long Island, when her father was stationed nearby. She and her mother would take the train into Manhattan where they’d partake in many of the offerings of the Big Apple.
She went off to a Baptist college in Campbellsville, KY, where she spent a year and a half. Then she transferred to Georgetown Baptist College. And what did she study while in academia? “Whatever I damn well pleased,” she explained.
The fact that her grandparents gave a home to the college, to be used as the president’s residence, could have helped Doris in her independent curriculum quest to “take what I wanted.” Then, she left. While in college, she became engaged to one James Edward Smith. He was studying to become a Baptist minister. He got drafted to go to Vietnam. Doris said that James thought if he could seduce her, she’d marry him before he went off to war. That didn’t work. But Doris did go off to Nashville, TN, where she resided with James’ mother for awhile. Doris found a job with Ma Bell where she worked in the Records Department and received drafting training. “I wasn’t allowed to use a calculator,” she noted. “I had to do the adding in my head.”
She went to live at the YWCA. A block or so from the Y was a restaurant where she had breakfast almost every morning with Johnny Cash. “What a demon he was,’ she remarked. “I was a virgin; He was always after me.”
Doris met Frank Arbuthnot at an Over 21 Dance at the Y. They got married and Frank attended Florida State University in Tallahassee. He played football. She didn’t like football. Following instructions to attend
a football game, Doris fell asleep in the bleachers. “I never had to go to another game after that,” she offered with a smile lighting up her face. Doris and Frank had a son, Curtis.
Doris got out of that marriage before Frank graduated. “You’ve already had two years on me. Adios!” In addition, she didn’t like his last name. She had continued to work for Ma Bell during that relationship.
When asked if she loved Frank, Doris thoughtfully replied, ‘Well, if I did I didn’t stay in love very long.”
While in Tallahassee, Doris met Daniel Isaiah Corley, a career pilot in the Navy. They had a son, Daniel Scot Corley who only lived for three months. Both of Doris’s sons died from heart disease. Curt died at the age of 21, shortly after graduating from college.
Her next move was to Cincinnati where Doris was living when her very young son passed away. She worked for the University of Cincinnati. She also took dance lessons from Johnny Lang. When her mother heard about Doris’s dance instruction she informed Doris that she should be going to church rather than cavorting around on a dance floor. While employed at the University, Doris also worked for a travel club
where she accompanied travelers on jaunts to the islands and other exotic places.
In Cincinnati is where Doris learned how to play bridge. She had a friend, Starla Burns, who taught her. They became best friends, playing bridge and going many places together. Doing very well on the bridge
scene, they won the National Women’s Bridge Pairs as well as other tournaments. Starla, unfortunately died in a tragic accident. Doris went on a trip to New Orleans. She had 20 master points to her
name and she found a bridge club. Here, she met a fellow who was a bridge pro. She asked him how long it would take to learn “this dumb, stupid game.” The man, Louis Michael Fiorello, told her “You need to find the best bridge player and sleep with him and talk about bridge all night.”
She married him.
“He taught me everything,” Doris explained. He only had a fifth-grade education but he was “very brilliant.” They remained together for three or four years. While in New Orleans, Doris worked as business manager at Commander’s Palace, the world-renowned restaurant. She left that employ when the Brennan family purchased the establishment. Doris didn’t have much love for the new owners.
Doris is a huge fan of the Mardi Gras celebration in New Orleans. “I’d like to go back to one more,” she told us. She went to Pensacola. She also went on a cruise to the Grand Caymen Islands and met John Monroe whom she persuaded to open a travel agency, with her. He was 80; She was 40. He found a woman who would provide the necessary qualifications for starting such a business and it was established. It didn’t exactly boom. Here is where Carla Dedolph entered Doris’s life. The two women met at a bridge club where Doris invited Carla to attend a memorial service for Curt. Carla came on board the travel business and helped sell the services provided by the travel agency. Doris was working at that business for three years. Carla bought her out and stayed in that business for 23 years.
Husband Number Three is a mystery. Clearly, this union was not one made in heaven. “I think I only stayed with him for a couple of months,” she concluded. Doris believes this matrimonial adventure took place
when she was in Pensacola.
Doris worked for a number of travel agencies. She accompanied people on tours. She also kept books for businesses. One of her good friends, Sally Johnson, lived in the Grand Caymans. Doris kept her books for 20 years, traveling there every six weeks. That’s where she met John Monroe, the ” let’s start a travel agency guy.” Doris also took people there for special events like Pirate’s Week, one of her favorite celebrations.
Mexico City was a destination for a big bridge tournament. Doris accompanied a group of people there. They were sitting in the bar of a big, gorgeous hotel and a young man, from Yugoslavia, began speaking
with Doris. He wanted to come to the United States. He was about to be deported. His name was Anton Gorup. This was around 1984-85. Doris returned to Pensacola and two weeks later Anton showed up at
her door. Doris married him, Carla performed the ceremony. He thought they were really married. Doris was just assisting him in getting a green card. Doris helped him get U.S. citizenship. This was a long
process, taking a huge amount of time. Anton was hanging around, ever hopeful that his new wife would conform to being a wife. This got to be downright boring so Doris shipped him off to take care of her elderly mother who was still living in Kentucky.
Doris met Dr. Morrison, she suspects in Pensacola. He requested her presence in Atlanta. She dallied for five months so when Dr. Morrison ‘phoned to inquire about her whereabouts, she went to Atlanta and
stayed there for 20 years, sometimes with Dr. Morrison. Doris and Carla traveled, taking many trips together. They also played gin rummy. Carla would beat Doris who then would pay off her incurred debts by pulling weeds in Carla’s garden. Carla taught Doris how to play cribbage, too. When in Atlanta, she continued to play cribbage. She called Carla, telling her about the clubs that were there. Doris was a bit hesitant about playing in them. Carla told her to just go and she’d remember how to play the game. Doris then established a club, “Have Pegs, Will
Travel.” The club is still in existence. “The last time I played at the cribbage club in Ajijic I won all of the games,” she reported, “so I never went back.” Doris reached the national standings in cribbage and in 1999 won the National Cribbage Tournament in Raleigh, N.C. She won $7,600 from this competition. She was only the second woman in history to win this championship. “A huge fete,’ friend Carla remarked.
In Atlanta, Doris worked for several travel agencies, doing their accounting.
She met John Delmar (J.D.) Denny. He became her fifth husband. Doris needed to have two surgeries but didn’t have the money to pay for them. J.D. had great insurance!
Doris went on a three-day familiarization trip to Mexico. She returned to Atlanta and told J.D., “We’re going to Mexico!” He replied affirmatively and built a house in Riberas where Doris
continues to reside. When poor health made it necessary for J.D. to have skilled nursing care, he went to a facility in California.
Doris met Mac Argo at a bridge tournament. He was from Birmingham, AL. They played in tournaments in the United States. They met up with Carla and her husband, Ray, to play in regional and national
tournaments. Mac and Doris went back and forth between Mexico and the United State, playing in bridge tournaments for about seven years.
Before Mac came into her life, Doris was a cat person. She bred and sold Persian cats while she lived in Atlanta. Mac brought dogs into her life. He had two. Now, she has five, and two cats!!!
On one of Doris and Ray’s birthdays, this foursome searched for something special to do to celebrate. Ray and Doris both wanted to play Barbu. So they packed up, leaving the tournament they were playing in, and returned to Pensacola. Doris had learned the game when she lived in New Orleans. She was instructed by the Italian Blue Team members who comprised the premier bridge team in the world. They taught their protégées how to play Barbu. Doris thought they were better at bridge.
About 25 years ago, Doris brought Carla and Ray to Lakeside to play in a bridge tournament. Now, they are permanent residents here. They travel extensively, teach bridge on cruises and have a tax business. But, home is here in Riberas!
As for Doris, she adores being here in Mexico. “This is where I want to be.”
There are other people who have played an important role in Doris’s life. She became friends with Ed and Dotty Lewis, probably at a bridge tournament. They resided in the Washington, D.C. area where Dot ran a bridge club. They played bridge all over North America, amassing thousands of master points. Dotty and Doris were in the movies. They were employed as extras. In one gig they were riding on a streetcar down St. Charles Street in New Orleans.
Doris is responsible for bringing Dotty and Ed to Lakeside. They eventually purchased a home behind the Chapala Bridge Club. Ed passed away several years ago. Dot continues to spend her time between D.C. and Lakeside.
Another important person, to Doris, is Paco Lopez who Doris refers to as “my adopted kid.” He lives in and maintains Doris’s house in Atlanta. “He’s a true gentleman,” Carla noted. He’s been in Doris’s life for at least 30 years.
Many, many more people have been a part of Doris’s life. We’d have to cut down far too many trees to produce enough paper to name them all. You might have been one so it’s hopeful you’ll smile when you recall just how you fit into her life.
She not only plays bridge and Barbu, she has taken groups on tours to various locations such as Copper Canyon and Morelia. Some have been bridge tours, some cribbage. She’s also taken groups to bridge
tournaments in Puerto Villarta and to Ixtapan de la Sol. Add a bridge cruise to Alaska to Doris’s list of accomplishments. She’s also a Mahjong player, having been in a number of groups here at
Lakeside. Tour guide, accountant, travel agent, bridge director, real estate saleswoman – add all of these to Doris’s extensive list of vocations. Of her accounting career, Carla, who had first-hand experience with Doris’s skill, proclaimed that Doris “was never off a penny.”
We can’t forget to add another job to Doris’s resume. She was a bookseller. She sold bridge books for Randy Baron, owner of the famous Baron Barclay Bridge Supply. She was selling in the Atlanta area, in the northern part of Florida, all the way over to Mobile, Alabama. She was in this business “for years, at least 20,” she estimated. She had a keen desire to play in the Huntsman World Senior Games in Saint George, UT. Bridge is one of the sports. She got to go there, a few years ago, and, of course, won the bridge event! Doris also loves playing in the regional tournament in Gatlinburg, TN. She has played there quite often, beginning about 35 years ago. Of her bridge expertise, Carla noted that Doris, in days of old, would play four sessions a day, and she always drank during the midnight game. “She played just as well drunk, as she did sober,” Carla dutifully explained. In addition, at these competitions, she was dressed to kill and around 11:30 p.m., she’d dance.
There’s also reason to suspect that Doris could have spent ample time with sailors. She can let loose with a stream of curse words that would make any nautical sort cheer, or cry.
That’s our Doris.
The sun is setting. We needed to share her story.
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