Dorothy (Gates) Staples Boss was born in a sawmill camp in Thomasville, Missouri, on May 22, 1936. She was born to Lon Gates and Violet (Ward) Gates. She passed away on Sunday, April 2, 2023, in Mountain View, Missouri, at the age of 86 years.
Life was hard, growing up with three sisters and a younger brother especially right after the depression, but their mother, Violet, raised them to be resilient and good people. Dorothy attended school in Eminence, where she met and married Danny Staples, the love of her life. They had two children, Robin and Richard. They made their home in a little white frame house above the mill at Alley Spring. Alley was her favorite place in the world and where she found her most happiness and she spoke of those memories often.
She was baptized into the Methodist Church at Eminence. She loved the Lord and her church. She had a beautiful angelic singing voice, and would often sing solos on Sunday morning.
In 1965, she moved to Jefferson City, Missouri, and later married Clifford Boss in May 1972. She lived there for 62 years before she moved back to Eminence in 2018, but soon became physically unable to live alone. She moved into Mountain View Healthcare in Mountain View, Missouri, and remained there until her death.
She is preceded in death by her husband, Clifford Boss; her father, Lon Gates; her mother, Violet Gates Clark; three sisters, Betty Rayfield, Rosemary McBride, and Marjorie Williams; and her greatest loss was the death of her son, Richard Staples in 1996.
She is survived by her daughter, Robin Staples of Eminence, MO; her brother, Lon J. Gates and wife, Annie of Jefferson City, MO; her grandchildren, Holly Smith (Mike), Rachel Green (Joe), Elizabeth Hockett (Jory), and Danny Staples (Kate); and she also has a host of great-grandchildren, nieces, and nephews.
After the Lord, Dorothy loved her family the most. Her own words follow: “My children are my special blessings that God gave to me for my lifetime and forever. The only real treasures that I have ever had are my babies and their families.”
She is now united in Heaven, with her family members that left before her. She is praising the Lord with her beautiful voice and singing with God’s heavenly angels. Rest in peace, dear Dorothy. You will be missed down here on Earth, and we will continue to praise God until we see you again.
Graveside services will be held at 2:00 p.m. on Friday, April 7, 2023, at New Eminence Cemetery, Eminence, Missouri, with Pastor Barry Fielder officiating. Condolences may be expressed at www.yarbermortuary.com.
