Doyle Skinner
Doyle Leroy Skinner was born July 26, 1929, to George Roswell Skinner and Emma Mae Putnam Skinner on a farm in Deuel County, Nebraska. He was the oldest of four children. He died Feb. 2, 2020, in Holyoke at the age of 90.
He graduated from high school in Ovid. Enrolling in the United States Army in 1950, he was stationed in the Alaskan territory at Fort Richardson near Anchorage during the Korean War. In 1952, he was honorably discharged.
Doyle met Dorothy at her family’s roller skating rink in Holyoke. When he walked through the door, his friend told him, “She’s the one for you!” He married Dorothy Jean Dirks on June 6, 1953, at the Methodist Church in Holyoke, celebrating their 66th wedding anniversary in 2019. They were blessed with two daughters, Gail and Jillene.
Originally they resided in Julesburg where he did auto body work for the Chevrolet garage. In the ’50s, they moved to Holyoke where they had their business, Holyoke Furniture Company. Before completely retiring, Doyle and his wife owned a trucking business for several years.
After retiring, they spent many years in south Texas in their RV during the winter. He loved camping and boating with his family. He and his wife went on many motorcycle trips, especially enjoying the Black Hills of South Dakota. In later years he liked restoring old tractors and doing woodworking. Attending grandchildren’s events was a favorite thing.
One of Doyle’s proudest moments was being invited on the Colorado Honor Flight on Sept. 11, 2011. His brother Wayne from Julesburg, also a veteran of the Korean War, accompanied him. They flew to Washington, D.C., where they were able to visit all the war memorials. Doyle was proud of his country and the service he had given. A United States flag always flies outside their home.
Doyle was preceded in death by his parents, George and Emma Skinner; and an infant granddaughter.
He will be sadly missed by his wife, Dorothy of Holyoke; daughter, Gail Schlachter and husband Marc of Holyoke; daughter, Jillene Duester and husband Clyde of Holyoke; grandsons, Hazen Schlachter and wife Andrea of Holyoke, Aaron Schlachter and wife Kendra of Holyoke, and Jason Roberts of Johnstown; granddaughters, Kelly Grimm and husband Jim of Fort Collins and Heather Pelle and husband Broc of Johnstown; great-grandchildren, Dylan and Katelyn Grimm, Kaili and Khloe Roberts, Hailey Pelle, Nicole, Ryan and Meredith Schlachter, and Rhettly, Austynn and Carsyn Schlachter; brothers, Wayne Skinner and wife Bev of Julesburg and George Skinner of Albuquerque, New Mexico; sister, Marlene Yates and husband Bob of Longmont; sister-in-law and brother-in-law, Richard and Mary Lou Lebsack of Holyoke; brother-in-law, L.D. Dirks of Holyoke; and many nieces, nephews, other relatives and friends.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests memorials be made in Doyle’s name to the Melissa Memorial Hospital 3D digital mammography fund.