Advertisement

Doris J <I>Wilson</I> Budge

Advertisement

Doris J Wilson Budge

Birth
Jackson, Teton County, Wyoming, USA
Death
15 Sep 2023 (aged 93)
Jackson, Teton County, Wyoming, USA
Burial
Teton County, Wyoming, USA Add to Map
Memorial ID
View Source
Budge, 93, could do it all

Published in The Jackson Hole News & Guide Newspaper - Jackson, Wyoming - Teton County, Wyoming - Wednesday, September 27, 2023.

Doris Wilson Budge died Sept. 15. She was 93. The following was provided by her family.

Doris was delivered by Dr. Huff in a small cabin between Kelly Street and Simpson Avenue on Jan. 1, 1930, in Jackson, Wyoming, where she would remain for the rest of her life, working, playing, raising a family and being a wife.

Her parents passed along plenty of pioneer heritage. Lew Wilson's family was among the very first settlers in South Park and on the West Bank; the town of Wilson was named after them. Marion Taylor Wilson's family history in America dates back to the 1600s, and Doris could have been a member of the Mayflower Society (if she had had the time).

Marion's great-grandmother was the first woman to cross the Isthmus of Panama on the back of a mule. She was on her way to the California gold fields, where she started a store, which was more successful than seeking riches by mining. The Wyoming history stories of colorful and capable women trickle down from all sides of the family. Doris exemplified this strong heritage. Her ancestors would have been proud of her.

Doris grew up on Lew and Marion's small ranch on the west side of Jackson, where the Maverik Station and Quick Lube are today. (If you are old enough, you will remember their water wheel.) The family traveled around Wyoming and Colorado, chasing work, which was scarce in the '30s and '40s. They established a construction business by building bridges and working around the clock.

Doris and her siblings, Jerry Wilson and Arden Wilson Barker, traveled with their parents, sleeping in a tent and working as soon as they were old enough. Doris began driving dump trucks for her parents when she was 14 and worked for them every summer throughout her high school years.

She attended Jackson-Wilson High School and played on the basketball team with her best friend, Betty Budge, who later became her sister-in-law. Doris was an excellent ski racer and she won many ribbons. She also enjoyed going on summer pack trips with her family. They explored the mountains around Jackson Hole on horseback, where Doris learned to fish, hunt and become a skilled outdoorswoman.

Doris began seeing Clint Budge about the same time she began driving a truck. After three years of dating they married on July 3, 1947, when she was 17. The only dress she owned was wool, so she remembered her wedding day as being very hot.

The couple built their first house on Kelly Street, just after their marriage. She told the grandkids stories of her cutting the boards by hand as Clint told her the measurements.

A few years later, they bought a larger house a few blocks west on Kelly Street and started a family. Karen was followed 11 months later by Donna, so they waited a few years. Then Barb was born, and Rick finished off the family.

While Doris was raising kids, she had several jobs as a waitress at the Wrangler Café and the Wort Café. Then she worked at Quality Cleaners for a few years. After that, she worked at Jackson Lumber until 1974, first for Art Brown and Hugh Soest and later for Jerry Tracy and Don Clark.

Doris took a few years off before she and Clint bought Northwestern Construction from Clint's partners, Ralph Gill and Phil Baux. Doris could, and did, do almost anything related to construction management. In fact, Doris could do almost anything in any field, from hunting and processing game meat to hemming a dress.

Doris and Clint were able to take off during the winter months, when business was slower in Jackson. They had many traveling adventures with friends. They found themselves in Lake Havasu, Arizona. They purchased a home there and enjoyed winter with almost half the retired population of Jackson.

Clint was a volunteer fireman in Jackson. While responding to the Wort Hotel fire in August of 1980, he was badly burned. Doris, being the woman who could and would do almost anything, managed his burn care at home so he didn't have to remain hospitalized in Salt Lake. After that, Clint couldn't stand the cold, so they sold all of their assets in Northwestern Construction and made their home in Jackson in the summer, and they stayed in Lake Havasu during the winter months.

Doris and Clint enjoyed life together. They worked hard and played hard. They had many friends who all enjoyed antics while camping and fishing on Jackson Lake, golfing at Jackson Hole Golf and Tennis or enjoying a drink with friends at a local bar after work. Each of the kids has carried on the family tradition: Work hard and play hard.

While golfing with the Jackson Hole Snow Devils in Heise, Idaho, in her 80s, Doris got a hole in one. She was always very proud of that.

On July 8, 1983, Doris and Clint were fishing on Jackson Lake when she caught a world-record lake trout, weighing in at 50 pounds. It was a world record for the "approved line class." The world record was later broken, but her fish remains tied for a Wyoming state record. Catching that big guy was one of Doris's proudest moments.

Doris was a member of Jackson Hole Ski Club and helped with and skied in many Little Waxers races. She also helped put on World Cup races at Teton Village.

She was a member of St. John's Auxiliary, Jackson Hole Snow Devils and Jackson Hole Golf and Tennis Ladies League.

Later in life, because she wanted to tag along with her granddaughter, Regan Clark, Doris became a regular attendee of Presbyterian Church of Jackson Hole.

Doris spent her later years with her friend and companion, Dick Opsahl, in Jackson and in Lake Havasu. She also enjoyed working in her gardens. As a proud matriarch, she loved and supported her kids and grandkids. There were always cookies and memories made in her house up on Budge Drive.

She enjoyed being at Legacy Lodge with her friends. In the end, she loved being at Sage Living with all of her wonderful caregivers.

Doris was preceded in death by her parents, Lew and Marion Taylor Wilson; husband, Clinton Budge; brother, Jerry Wilson; sister, Arden Barker, and granddaughter, Regan Clark.

Doris is survived by her children: Karen (Gordi) Budge Eaton, Donna (Blake) Budge Clark, Barbara (Richard) Budge Pack, and Rick (Heather) Budge; grandchildren Justin Watsabaugh, Brad (Becks) Watsabaugh, Beth (Mike) McDermott, Chris (Eliza) Eaton, Abby (Topher) McGrath, Bryan (Ami) Pack, Hillary (Joe) McKinney, Karson (Kaitlyn) Wilde; great-grandchildren Carter Watsabaugh, Taylor Watsabaugh, Kelly McDermott, Kennedy McDermott, Elle McDermott, Cullen McDermott, Beckett Eaton, Wren Eaton, Duncan Eaton, Mason Pack, Wyatt Pack, Colby McKinney, Mady McKinney, Korbyn Nield, Kamri Nield, and Kobe Wilde.

She is also survived by many nieces and nephews and a host of friends.

In lieu of flowers, please consider a Doris Budge memorial donation to the Senior Center of Jackson or St. John's Hospice.

Services will be held at 1 p.m Oct. 14 at the Presbyterian Church of Jackson Hole.
Budge, 93, could do it all

Published in The Jackson Hole News & Guide Newspaper - Jackson, Wyoming - Teton County, Wyoming - Wednesday, September 27, 2023.

Doris Wilson Budge died Sept. 15. She was 93. The following was provided by her family.

Doris was delivered by Dr. Huff in a small cabin between Kelly Street and Simpson Avenue on Jan. 1, 1930, in Jackson, Wyoming, where she would remain for the rest of her life, working, playing, raising a family and being a wife.

Her parents passed along plenty of pioneer heritage. Lew Wilson's family was among the very first settlers in South Park and on the West Bank; the town of Wilson was named after them. Marion Taylor Wilson's family history in America dates back to the 1600s, and Doris could have been a member of the Mayflower Society (if she had had the time).

Marion's great-grandmother was the first woman to cross the Isthmus of Panama on the back of a mule. She was on her way to the California gold fields, where she started a store, which was more successful than seeking riches by mining. The Wyoming history stories of colorful and capable women trickle down from all sides of the family. Doris exemplified this strong heritage. Her ancestors would have been proud of her.

Doris grew up on Lew and Marion's small ranch on the west side of Jackson, where the Maverik Station and Quick Lube are today. (If you are old enough, you will remember their water wheel.) The family traveled around Wyoming and Colorado, chasing work, which was scarce in the '30s and '40s. They established a construction business by building bridges and working around the clock.

Doris and her siblings, Jerry Wilson and Arden Wilson Barker, traveled with their parents, sleeping in a tent and working as soon as they were old enough. Doris began driving dump trucks for her parents when she was 14 and worked for them every summer throughout her high school years.

She attended Jackson-Wilson High School and played on the basketball team with her best friend, Betty Budge, who later became her sister-in-law. Doris was an excellent ski racer and she won many ribbons. She also enjoyed going on summer pack trips with her family. They explored the mountains around Jackson Hole on horseback, where Doris learned to fish, hunt and become a skilled outdoorswoman.

Doris began seeing Clint Budge about the same time she began driving a truck. After three years of dating they married on July 3, 1947, when she was 17. The only dress she owned was wool, so she remembered her wedding day as being very hot.

The couple built their first house on Kelly Street, just after their marriage. She told the grandkids stories of her cutting the boards by hand as Clint told her the measurements.

A few years later, they bought a larger house a few blocks west on Kelly Street and started a family. Karen was followed 11 months later by Donna, so they waited a few years. Then Barb was born, and Rick finished off the family.

While Doris was raising kids, she had several jobs as a waitress at the Wrangler Café and the Wort Café. Then she worked at Quality Cleaners for a few years. After that, she worked at Jackson Lumber until 1974, first for Art Brown and Hugh Soest and later for Jerry Tracy and Don Clark.

Doris took a few years off before she and Clint bought Northwestern Construction from Clint's partners, Ralph Gill and Phil Baux. Doris could, and did, do almost anything related to construction management. In fact, Doris could do almost anything in any field, from hunting and processing game meat to hemming a dress.

Doris and Clint were able to take off during the winter months, when business was slower in Jackson. They had many traveling adventures with friends. They found themselves in Lake Havasu, Arizona. They purchased a home there and enjoyed winter with almost half the retired population of Jackson.

Clint was a volunteer fireman in Jackson. While responding to the Wort Hotel fire in August of 1980, he was badly burned. Doris, being the woman who could and would do almost anything, managed his burn care at home so he didn't have to remain hospitalized in Salt Lake. After that, Clint couldn't stand the cold, so they sold all of their assets in Northwestern Construction and made their home in Jackson in the summer, and they stayed in Lake Havasu during the winter months.

Doris and Clint enjoyed life together. They worked hard and played hard. They had many friends who all enjoyed antics while camping and fishing on Jackson Lake, golfing at Jackson Hole Golf and Tennis or enjoying a drink with friends at a local bar after work. Each of the kids has carried on the family tradition: Work hard and play hard.

While golfing with the Jackson Hole Snow Devils in Heise, Idaho, in her 80s, Doris got a hole in one. She was always very proud of that.

On July 8, 1983, Doris and Clint were fishing on Jackson Lake when she caught a world-record lake trout, weighing in at 50 pounds. It was a world record for the "approved line class." The world record was later broken, but her fish remains tied for a Wyoming state record. Catching that big guy was one of Doris's proudest moments.

Doris was a member of Jackson Hole Ski Club and helped with and skied in many Little Waxers races. She also helped put on World Cup races at Teton Village.

She was a member of St. John's Auxiliary, Jackson Hole Snow Devils and Jackson Hole Golf and Tennis Ladies League.

Later in life, because she wanted to tag along with her granddaughter, Regan Clark, Doris became a regular attendee of Presbyterian Church of Jackson Hole.

Doris spent her later years with her friend and companion, Dick Opsahl, in Jackson and in Lake Havasu. She also enjoyed working in her gardens. As a proud matriarch, she loved and supported her kids and grandkids. There were always cookies and memories made in her house up on Budge Drive.

She enjoyed being at Legacy Lodge with her friends. In the end, she loved being at Sage Living with all of her wonderful caregivers.

Doris was preceded in death by her parents, Lew and Marion Taylor Wilson; husband, Clinton Budge; brother, Jerry Wilson; sister, Arden Barker, and granddaughter, Regan Clark.

Doris is survived by her children: Karen (Gordi) Budge Eaton, Donna (Blake) Budge Clark, Barbara (Richard) Budge Pack, and Rick (Heather) Budge; grandchildren Justin Watsabaugh, Brad (Becks) Watsabaugh, Beth (Mike) McDermott, Chris (Eliza) Eaton, Abby (Topher) McGrath, Bryan (Ami) Pack, Hillary (Joe) McKinney, Karson (Kaitlyn) Wilde; great-grandchildren Carter Watsabaugh, Taylor Watsabaugh, Kelly McDermott, Kennedy McDermott, Elle McDermott, Cullen McDermott, Beckett Eaton, Wren Eaton, Duncan Eaton, Mason Pack, Wyatt Pack, Colby McKinney, Mady McKinney, Korbyn Nield, Kamri Nield, and Kobe Wilde.

She is also survived by many nieces and nephews and a host of friends.

In lieu of flowers, please consider a Doris Budge memorial donation to the Senior Center of Jackson or St. John's Hospice.

Services will be held at 1 p.m Oct. 14 at the Presbyterian Church of Jackson Hole.


Sponsored by Ancestry

Advertisement

See more Budge or Wilson memorials in:

Flower Delivery Sponsor and Remove Ads

Advertisement