Doris Ann Clune

Dorris Ann Clune (neé Ackelbein), 89, passed away on Monday, May 18, 2020, of natural causes at Highgate Senior Living in Great Falls with her daughter, Sarah, by her side. Dorris was born in Chickasha, Oklahoma on July 29, 1930, to Henry and Helen Ackelbein, the middle of three daughters.She grew up in Loveland, Colorado and later graduated from high school in Lewistown, Montana. Dorris received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Anthropology from the University of Washington and began her Masters degree at the University of California in Los Angeles where she met and married Frank Clune in 1957.Her studies concerned art and weaving, interests she had the rest of her life. Dorris and Frank moved to Athens, Georgia and later Brockport, New York where Frank was a professor while Dorris raised their three kids, and enough vegetables and fruit to can and preserve every year.In 1973, the couple designed their own house to be built in Spencerport, NY and the family lived in Micronesia while Frank was on sabbatical before returning to their new home. She continued weaving on both large and small looms over the years, pieces for family and friends, eventually selling her work at local craft fairs.She also helped out in the community by being a board member at the historic Morgan-Manning House, raising money to preserve the Soldier’s Monument at the edge of Brockport, as a member of a quilting group, and a supporter of the local library. Later, she also wove at the Genesee Country Village & Museum, a historic re-enactment village spanning life in the 1800s in the Rochester area. Upon Frank’s retirement, the couple moved farther west to Albion, NY and took on updating a 100 year-old farm house as a decade long retirement project. A smaller house on the property was transformed into The Weaving House, and Dorris wove full time and offered demonstrations of her craft to the general public as a retail store. Later, Dorris and Frank moved to Great Falls to enjoy the scenery and the Charles Russell Museum. Dorris is survived by son, Edward Clune; daughters, Sheila Leaming and Sarah Clune; and grand-daughter, Gina Leaming. She was preceded in death by her husband, Frank Clune, who passed away on November 1, 2016. A Memorial Service is planned for next year, re-visiting, via road trip, the significant places of Dorris’ life and spreading her ashes throughout the country while visiting family members.