Memory Folder - Life Story Funeral Homes

Joanne “Jodie” Marshall Doster was born August 9,
1938, in Plainwell, Michigan, the oldest child of
William H. and Paige (Woodward) Marshall. She
grew up in her father’s funeral home in Plainwell
and through the years. She and her sister, Mary,
helped their mom and dad set up chairs and
vacuum the carpets, before and after funerals.
In those years the funeral home was alive with
the sounds of piano, drums, march music and
the laughter of young children, as Jodie and Mary
practiced their dancing, musical instruments, singing, and baton twirling.
Of course there were many times when the girls had to be very quiet and
they were sent to their rooms upstairs where they had to rest and read
until funeral serviced or visitations were over! Then things got noisy again,
with friends visiting and Jodie, with Mary’s help, giving dance lessons to
the neighborhood girls in the funeral home garage, or Mary practicing her
drumming, and Jodie teaching baton in the back yard.
By the time she reached 7th grade, Jodie was the youngest majorette in the
high school band, becoming the featured twirler and drum majorette in the
9th-12th grade. She continued to be active in the tap and ballet dancing,
and joined the high school French Club, Speech Club, Student Council, and
newspaper staff. She was one of the four juniors elected to the National
Honor Society, and served as secretary of the society in her senior year. Jodie,
was also given the honor of giving the speech at graduation.
After high school Jodie attended Western Michigan University on a four year
complete scholarship as the featured twirler with the WMU Marching Band.
In her college years she also performed at half-time shows for the Detroit
Lions, Chicago Bears, and Marching Band Festivals throughout the state. In
her first two and a half years at WMU, Jodie continued to compete in baton
competitions throughout the USA, and won two of the most coveted national
open championships: Grand champion of the Tangerine Bowl, in Orland,
FL, when she was the featured performer at the halftime
show on January 1, 1957, and in May 1957 she won the
coveted national grand champion title in the Tulip Festival
in Holland, MI where she performed in the Tulip Time Variety
Show in the Holland Civic Center. Jodie was also honored
in the senior year at WMU to be elected by the faculty to Pi
Gamma Mu, the national social science honor society.
Jodie began teaching baton twirling when she was in
the 10th grade in 1954, and spent the next 40 years
training thousands of young people to become experts

at twirling and putting on a show in front of their marching bands. Many of her
students competed in baton competitions and there were huge collections of
trophies in homes all over SW Michigan. Jodie was very proud of her daughter,
Kerrie and her granddaughter, Alyssa, who were pictured with Jodie, in
2006, in the Kalamazoo Gazette, as the only family in Michigan with
three generations of state champion baton twirlers.
In March, 1958, Jodie organized the Liberty Belles Baton and Musical
Corps of the Greater Kalamazoo Valley of Michigan, with twirlers and
musicians from all over SW Michigan. They performed in hundreds
of parades, shows, and competitions throughout the USA, including
nationally televised parades, and half-time shows.
Jodie’s other favorite hobby was Genealogy. She produced two well
known books: “Pioneer Families of Barry County, Michigan”, in 1995;
and “Pioneer Families in the Kalamazoo Valley of Michigan”, in 1998.
She was active in genealogy to the end of her life, and was still twirling
her batons (yes two of tem) as late as 2010, in parades and shows.
On December 27, 1958, Jodie married her high school sweetheart, William
Paul Doster, and together they had three children: Todd William, in 1960;
Scott Dale, in 1962; and Kerrie Dianne, in 1964. The Doster household was a
busy one with baseball, football, basketball, volleyball, baton twirling, musical
instruments, dance lessons, Sunday school, and lots and lots of neighborhood
and school friends always welcome.
As much as Jodie loved her twirling profession, she loved even more bringing
up her three kids and watching them grow into fine adults. She never knew
what they would come up with next: including the Beako, Earo, and Cheeko
stage, referring to Todd’s nose, Scott’s ears, and Kerrie’s cheeks; or the
time they knocked a leather organ bench into an electric heater and melted
the bench; Scott doing a belly-flopper on the coffee table and breaking the
table legs; Todd falling into a hole that Scott had dug just for his brother to
fall into and Todd, while bleeding from a bad cut, running home, and Scott
yelling “don’t tell Dad!!”; and Kerrie chasing her brothers with her batons.
Well, it was a three ring circus in the Doster home, but they did grow into
fine adults and then the six grandchildren kept the Doster
home lively and fun. Jodie has great hopes for all of her
children, grandchildren, great grandchildren nieces,
and nephews, and grandnieces and nephews. Jodie
and Bill were so proud of Todd, with his athletic
and leadership abilities; Scott, with his outgoing
personality, and cooking skills; Kerrie, such a pretty
girl, with lots of talents and intelligence; Robert
and Jamie, such a nice couple and such good
parents; Travis, well, wow, go Mendon!! How
proud we were of our quarterback who led
Mendon to their State Championship, in 2005;

Josh, the excellent scholar and athlete for Plainwell,
Jessica another scholar athlete from Mendon who
earned more varsity letters than anybody in the history
of the family; Alyssa “Bugg”, I loved watching you grow
into such a beautiful spirit; Jacob score a touchdown
for me and the Plainwell Trojans. Adam and Elizabeth
Your Grandma Jodie expects wonderful things out
of each of you too. And each and everyone of you
try to remember how much you have been loved,
and remember the golden rule: “Do onto others
as you would have them do onto you!”
Joanne “Jodie” Marshall Doster, of Kalamazoo
passed away on Friday, July 20, 2012 at the age
of 73. Jodie is survived by her three children: Todd (Sharon) Doster,
of Three Rivers; Scott Doster, of Cooper Twp; Kerrie (Al)
Jackson, of Plainwell; her mother: Paige Marshall, of
Plainwell; six grandchildren: Travis and Jessica Doster, both
of Three Rivers; Alyssa Coe, of Kalamazoo; Robert (Jamie)
Saddler, of Three Rivers; Joshua and Jacob Jackson, both of
Plainwell. She is also survived by two great grandchildren;
a brother-in-law: Wally Fritz; an uncle: Dave Colegrove;
three nieces: Leesa (Rick) Paul; Jennifer (Dave) Brown;
Alicia Fritz; a nephew: Christopher Carey; two grandnieces
and two grandnephews; several cousins; special friend Ed
McMahon and many friends and former baton students.
She is preceded in death by her husband: William Doster,
in 2009; her father, William Marshall; sister, Mary Lee Fritz,
both in 2002.
The family will receive friends on Tuesday from 4 to 7 PM at the
Life Story Funeral Home, 120 S. Woodhams, Plainwell (685-
5881). A funeral service will be held on Wednesday at 11 AM at
the same location. Burial will be at the Hillside Cemetery.
Please visit Jodie’s memory page at www.lifestorynet.com, where
you can sign her memory book online before coming to the funeral
home. Memorial donations may be made to the Parchment United
Methodist Church, or William Crispe Community Home, Assisted
Living in Plainwell.
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