Dunnellon loses tireless volunteer, caring friend

Sadly, Dunnellon has lost another devoted neighbor. Doris Magursky passed away on Feb. 26.

After raising four children, Doris and her late husband, Johnny, moved here from Miami in 1992. Since then, Doris has been an integral member of the community. When she wasn’t volunteering at her granddaughter and best friend Jillian Capps’ schools, she volunteered at numerous organizations around town.

Listing the organizations she didn’t volunteer for would be an easier task and a shorter list. Doris was often called the Energizer Bunny. She could be seen shuffling around town from one event to another.

She stood a proud 4 feet, 10 inches tall. Although a good foot of that was her fluffy silver head of hair.

Upon the occasion of her 75th birthday in August 2009, the town issued a proclamation in honor of her years of dedication to the town of Dunnellon. She worked the Board of Elections for many years as well as serving as a member of the City of Dunnellon Historic Preservation Board and Dunnellon Main Street.

At that time, Doris volunteered for the Boys & Girls Club of Dunnellon as well as being a member of the original Annie Johnson Center where she worked the food pantry. She was also in on the inception of the Friends of the Dunnellon Public Library.

If that wasn’t enough, she was also volunteering at the then Dunnellon Chamber of Commerce, where until recently she continued to volunteer and see it morph into the Dunnellon Chamber and Business Association. She was named Special Ambassador to the Chamber by then-director, Penny Lofton, in the early 2000s. She was a founding member of the Chamber Chicks.

Doris spent countless hours working for the Greater Dunnellon Historical Society and Train Depot. She was instrumental in getting the grant from the state to fix the Depot and bring it back to life. She spent many nights as a cook for the various activities hosted by the Depot as well as keeping the books and sitting on the Board.

If you’ve attended any function put on by the Chamber, then you’ve seen the results of Doris’s hard work. From Boomtown Days to the Two Rivers Music Fest, Doris has worked them all and everything in between. In 2004, she won the Chamber’s Ambassador Award, and in 2006, she received the Community Involvement Award.

Personally, Doris shared her life with her husband, Johnny, for 72 years. She was loved by her living children, John and his wife Mary and daughter Holly Capps and predeceased by her children Steven and Cindy.

She has left a dent in the community as well as in the lives of her friends who will miss her dearly. Doris shared many laughs with her dear friends, the late Joyce Bergeron, Victoria Balser, Candy Craig, Bonnie Fontaine, MaryJo Haley, Amy Sharkey, John Taylor, Kathleen Wallace and many others.

You knew you were in trouble when she began her sentence with, “Now wait a minute …” She would then proceed to set you on the right path. Doris always had a smile on her face and enjoyed a good laugh.

Without you knowing it, in some way or another, Doris Magursky has touched your life. Whether it was by attending the Christmas Parade where her alter ego came out as Mrs. Claus, or attending any function held in the City, Doris has been a part of it. If you’ve enjoyed the murals at the American Legion, you’ve seen the work of Doris Magursky and Amy Sharkey.

If you had the pleasure of knowing Doris personally, you can honor her by becoming a volunteer at any organization in need. The City will need a lot of shoes to fill the void she’s left behind.