Doris M. Kuzman

Doris Edna Kuzman of Stony Brook, NY passed away peacefully on Sunday, December 18 surrounded by her loved ones. Beloved mother, grandmother, great-grandmother,  wife and friend, she opened her home and her heart to many people in need throughout her lifetime. Her warmth, selflessness and caring spirit will live on in the memories of those whose lives she touched.

Doris was born in Hempstead in 1930 and graduated from Hempstead High School in 1948, 20th in her class out of 900 students. She fostered a lifelong love of music, playing the piano and the cello in the orchestra. In her later years,she played cello for local community musical groups and was a charter member in the Suffolk Symphony. 

Once out of highschool, Doris worked first as a dental assistant and then as a bookkeeper at Servo Mechanisms, Inc. where she met her husband Joe. Doris always said “I ran after him until he caught me!” They were married in January 1953 and moved to Stony Brook in 1955 where they lived with their 4 children until Joe passed in 1984. 

Doris was a very active member of her community, first as a girl scout leader, then as a  member of the Catholic Daughters of America, where she ultimately became Grand Regent. In 1964, she joined the Stony Brook Republican Club. She was nominated president in 1974 for four years and continued her service as committee woman for the next 22 years. Doris also sat on the Executive Board of the Brookhaven Town Republican committee. 

While Doris raised her 4 children, she taught sewing  and held small bookkeeping jobs. She worked full-time for 15 years for the Town of Brookhaven in the Personnel Department and retired from there in 1999.

Doris had a true zest for life. She loved to read, play golf, sail and float on the creek behind her house. Her favorite time of the day was cocktail hour on her porch watching the sunset. Doris had many friends and loved to entertain. Her home was always buzzing with parties, Bridge games and dinners. In later years, she discovered a love for travel. She made it to Alaska, Florida, San Francisco, upstate New York and Vermont. She went on a European boat cruise and made several trips to France. 

Doris is survived by her 4 children; Cynthia and her husband Ron Spiegelhalter, Paul and his wife Christine, Alicia and her partner Barry Donowitz, and Janice and her husband Charles Gibbs. She is also survived by her 5 grandchildren; Jeremy, Julia and Conrad Meurice, Elizabeth Kuzman-McRae and Matthew Kuzman as well as her two great-grandchildren Valerie and Delainey Meurice.  She is also survived by her brother Kenneth Morton of Williston, Vermont as well as numerous nephews and nieces. 

A wake will be held at Bryant Funeral Home on Old Town Road in Setauket on Saturday, January 21 from 10 am - 12 pm.  A luncheon in her honor will immediately follow at Ruvo’s restaurant in Port Jefferson.