Doris Bounds

Doris Holloway Bounds of Biloxi, MS, passed away peacefully on January 23, 2022, at home with her family and caretakers by her side. She was 91.

Doris was preceded in death by her parents John Tarrell “Bop” Holloway and Mary Helen “Mom” Holloway, her sister Mary-John Holloway Blankenship, and her loving husband of 68 years, Raymond Bounds. She is survived by her two daughters, Diane Bounds and Rebecca Barrett (Russell), her grandsons Randall Barrett (Rachel) and Matthew Garner, and her great grandsons Braydon Barrett and Skyler Barrett, along with many nieces and nephews.

Her early life had the trappings of a Faulkner novel, growing up in Mt. Olive, Mississippi, the daughter of the town's general store manager. A cheerleader at Mt. Olive High school, she eventually met football player Raymond Bounds, and together they became quintessential high school sweethearts. Their youthful dalliance was cemented in marriage after they graduated and were inseparable for 68 years until his passing. Leaving their home town behind, the newlyweds moved to the Mississippi Gulf Coast, which they would call home for the duration of their lives.

Being a multiskilled woman, Doris excelled in the many different jobs she held in her life. Her attention to detail was employed in her brief foray into the fourth estate while proofreading for the Daily Herald. Possessing an uncommonly nurturing maternal character, she flourished as both a kindergarten and music teacher, and the lifelong connections she made with her thriving students was proof to the impact she was able to make on their lives. A paragon of affability, Doris' welcoming nature provided effortless comfort to grieving families through her work with Riemann Family Funeral Homes, both in administration and playing the piano for services. “With a song in my heart, I greet each day,” was Doris' senior quote in high school, which truly encapsulated both her personality and her lifelong love of music. While her careers may have varied, she was able to bring her artistic talent to most of them, but one of her true passions was using her talents in service to the Lord. For the better part of a century, Doris was a Sunday School teacher and a musical accompanist at Fernwood Baptist Church in Gulfport. Her perennial presence in the church, whether on the piano or organ, was a testament to her lifelong faith and her dedication to serving the Lord.

When not tending to her ecclesiastical flock, she was immensely dedicated to her family. To love unconditionally is often spoken of as the purview of divinity, and yet it was an effortless gift that she gave to all of us. To write about her impact on us seems an impossible task. Listing our fond memories of her would be too expansive to print, while naming the feelings we have for her would always feel too lacking. So we are left to try to reconcile two discordant feelings concerning her passing, a deep sorrow of having a light so bright dim from our lives, and the enduring comfort in knowing that a part of that light still burns with warmth inside of each of us having known her.

Visitation will be on Monday, January 31st, 2022, from 11:00 a.m. until 1:00 p.m. at RIEMANN FAMILY FUNERAL HOME, located at 274 Beauvoir Rd. in Biloxi, MS. The funeral service will be at 1:00 p.m. in the funeral home chapel. Interment will be held in Floral Hills Memorial Gardens.

In lieu of flowers, the family prefers donations be made to Fernwood Baptist Church, 2307 East Pass Road, Gulfport, MS 39507.