Doris "Dee" Ann Ayres

Doris (Dee) Ann Whiteley Ayres of Easton, Maryland, passed peacefully into God’s eternal glory on Wednesday, February 9, 2022. She was 91 years old. Dee was born on December 27, 1930, in Easton to the late George Lee Whiteley and Della Rena Mullikin. After graduating from Easton High School in 1947, Dee entered nursing school at the University of Maryland in Baltimore. After a brief illness, Dee decided she wanted to go to school closer to her home. She entered the McQueen Gibbs School of Nursing where she graduated and started her nursing career in 1952. On September 19, 1953, she married the love of her life, Howard Richardson Ayres from Deep Creek, Virginia. Dee and Howard made their home in Easton on Peachblossom Creek and started a family of their own. Dee leaves behind two sons, Mark and Jeff Ayres of Easton; two grandchildren, Molly Mellor (Matt) from Cordova, MD, and Howard Ayres (Lauren) of Trappe, MD; and three great-grandchildren, Kendal Mellor, Adalyn Mellor, and Chance Ayres. Dee was a dedicated nurse throughout her entire career, always putting patients and families first. She loved every aspect of the nursing profession but emphasized that working at the bedside with patients was “what nursing is all about”. She started working in private duty nursing and in 1964 she decided to work at Easton Memorial Hospital, where she remained the rest of her career. She was highly respected and worked in almost every department at Easton Memorial Hospital. Her favorite unit that she worked in was the emergency department. Dee retired in 1992 as the Assistant Director of Nursing Service. After retirement, Dee enjoyed travelling with her nursing friends (Marian Wood, Mary Jean Knox, Annette Embry, Anita Ayres (sister-in-law), and Peggy Howard, attending the First Baptist Church in Easton, Maryland, gardening, reading, shopping, and spending time with her family. Dee was preceded in death by her husband, Howard Ayres, and her sister, Lee Walls. Dee was a beautiful woman both in appearance and on the inside. She lived each day of her life one day at a time, always putting others ahead of herself. Dee was the type of person that would give others the shirt off her back if they needed it. She touched the lives of everyone she met and always made others feel good. Dee will always be remembered for her kindness, beauty, loving nature, and her faith in the Lord. Dee’s funeral will be held at Fellows, Helfenbein & Newnam’s Funeral Home in Easton on Thursday February 17, 2022. Friends and family may pay respects from 12:00pm-1:00pm. Dee’s service will be held immediately after. Burial will be held at Woodlawn Memorial Cemetery for immediate family only. Dee was a lifelong member of The First Baptist Church in Easton. She would have asked that, in lieu of flowers, everyone have faith in God and treat everyone you encounter with nothing but kindness and love.

Doris "Dee" Ann Ayres

December 27, 1930 - February 9, 2022