Elderly Couple aDOOREable Sangerville’s Doores celebrate lifetime together

Phyllis Doore, 84, waits for her husband, Lyle Doore, 90, to settle into a booth at McDonald’s and then she begins to roam.

Wearing a smile as wide as her small face, she flits from one table to another, greeting people by name, occasionally dispensing a grandmotherly hug.

“I’m a mixer, I like people,” says the Sangerville woman, who will celebrate her 85th birthday on Dec. 17. “Lyle’s the quiet one,” she adds, glancing at her husband, who is patiently waiting for her.

The Doores grew up in the Brann’s Mills neighborhood of Dover-Foxcroft and they both come from large families. Their personalities may differ, but they share a common thread – love and respect for one another – that has endured for 65 years. They celebrated their anniversary Sept. 30.

Inseparable, the Doores regularly attend services at the United Baptist Church in Dover-Foxcroft and make it a daily habit to stop at McDonald’s, where the staff considers them family. Erica Bary, a young McDonald’s clerk, gives Lyle a hug and presents him with a belated birthday present.

“They’re like my grandparents,” Bary said.

So familiar to the restaurant staff, the Doores’ orders are up seconds after Phyllis arrives at the counter. Hash browns for her husband, a sandwich for her and one cup of black coffee to be shared.

“Not because we can’t afford two cups, but because neither of us is supposed to drink it for health reasons,” she explained. Over breakfast, the couple discuss the change in the weather, a trip they plan later in the day to Wal-Mart in Newport – and their life together.

“We’ve been quite compatible over the years,” Phyllis reflected. “I’m more affectionate than him, but he does call me ‘honeypot’ around the house. I guess you could also consider us best friends.”

Lyle nods in agreement.

“You were a real good cook and that helped a lot,” he replied, noting how his wife has catered to his sweet tooth over the years, baking homemade bread and a large batch of soft molasses cookies nearly every week. These days, if their five grown children, 16 grandchildren and 17 great-grandchildren don’t swing by, they share the home-cooked food with neighbors.

At their white clapboard house on Knowlton Mill’s Road, the Doores help one another with daily chores. Because Lyle is battling two types of cancer, heart trouble and glaucoma, Phyllis generally brings in wood from an attached shed in the early morning to keep the small kitchen wood stove running throughout the day. “There’s a skunk out there in the woodshed and I’m careful not to disturb it,” she related.

When that chore is completed, the petite woman has a cup of tea and toast and reads the daily newspaper. She avoids the crossword puzzle “because it’s a waste of my time.” She has sewing, knitting and crocheting projects that are more important to her.

A picture of good health, Phyllis says her doctor told her she’ll probably live another 10 years. She replied, “Is that all?”

Rising a little later than his spouse, Lyle seats himself at the nearly bare kitchen table in front of a Red Sox Fans Parking Only banner pinned to a cupboard. “It’s my place,” he said, having his usual bowl of dry cereal with a banana and milk.

“Do you know how old he was when the Red Sox won the last World Series?” Phyllis inquires and then proceeds without waiting for an answer. “He was just 4 years old and here he is 90 and he lived to see them win again!”

Lyle has been a Red Sox fan for years and managed to stay up to midnight to watch them win the World Series. He’s proud of his Red Sox card collection, some of which are framed and displayed on living room walls. While he loves the Sox, Lyle says his allegiance is to his country and his wife, who chauffeurs him everywhere.

Proud of her spotless driving record, Phyllis reports that she has never had an accident on the road. She does recall how she backed out of their garage one day and managed to rip the bumper off the car. The recollection sends them both into peals of laughter.

Lyle and Phyllis acknowledge that they have had their moments over the years. She jokes that she wore out a suitcase tucked under their bed from packing and unpacking her belongings during disagreements. Even though she may have threatened to leave, she never did.

“I’m just like a thunderstorm, the thunder sounds and the lightning might strike and then the sun comes out,” she summed up.

Lyle says he’s a quick learner. It took only one pail of ice water dumped over his head by his wife to stop drinking early in their marriage.

“It cured me,” he remarked.

“We get along I guess because everyone thinks I’m the boss,” Phyllis says. “Actually,” she adds, “There’s really no recipe for long-term marriages, ours just fell into place.”

Diana Bowley can be reached at 876-4579 and dianabdn@downeast.net.