After a hard-fought battle with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, also known as ALS or Lou Gehrig’s disease, Doris Popernik found final peace and rest on Sunday evening, June 14, 2020. She was the first child and only daughter born to Sarah Beard Shorter and the late C.D. Shorter. Doris was born on Father’s Day, June 19, 1955. 

Except for a few years as a military wife which carried her to Dothan, Ala., the Panama Canal Zone, and Bethesda, Md., Doris spent the majority of her life in Oxford. She grew up in the College Hill community, attending Oxford City Schools. Doris graduated in the OHS Class of 1973. She maintained close friendships and a sense of community and support from her classmates and their families and friends over the years. Many of these friends were supportive and remained close through her illness. She worked at Rebel Press and Jennie’s Hallmark Shop, the North Mississippi Regional Center as a Cottage Parent, and in the Shoe Department at Neilson’s. She was best known for her hard work and devotion for more than two decades of service to the University of Mississippi in the Registrar’s Office. Serving the students, faculty, and alumni of Ole Miss was her calling. Over the years she was dedicated to her work. Her coworkers were like family to her, and she was a huge Rebel fan.

Doris was preceded in death by her brother, Tim; her father, C.D.; and her grandparents, Lyonell and Ruby Doris Shorter, and Lloyd and Annie Beard. She is survived by her daughter, Elizabeth (Hugh McClendon), of Oxford; mother, Sarah Shorter, of Oxford; two brothers, Joey Shorter, of Atlanta, Ga., and Jimmy Shorter, of Madison, Ala; her aunts, Leasa Shorter, of Madison, Miss., and Marjorie Rose, of Knoxville, Tenn.; sisters-in-law, Jan, Beth, and Elizabeth; four nieces, six nephews, two great-nieces, and one great-nephew – she was an “Amazing” Aunt!

Doris grew up in the church and was an active member, attending several Baptist Churches in Oxford in her lifetime. Doris was a past member of the Order of the Eastern Star.

Waller Funeral Home will host the visitation from 4–7 p.m. on Monday, June 22, 2020. The funeral service will be in the Chapel of Waller Funeral Home on Tuesday, June 23, at 11 a.m. with Rev. Joey Shorter and Rev. Brad Burnett officiating. Burial will follow in Oxford Memorial Cemetery. A livestream video on the Waller Funeral Home Facebook page will begin at 11 a.m. for those who are unable to attend.

Memorials can be made to the Live Like Lou Foundation, 2 South Campus Avenue, Oxford, OH 45056 or to the Team Gleason Foundation, P.O. Box 24493, New Orleans, LA 70184.