Here's a wonderful tribute to Doris' mother from longtime fan and really great guy Lloyd Jessen!
A Tribute to Alma Sophia Welz Kappelhoff Day on the 120th Anniversary of Her Birth
Doris’ mother, Alma, was born 120 years ago—on July 6, 1895—in downtown Cincinnati, Ohio. She was welcomed into this world by her German immigrant parents—father, Wilhelm Welz, age 29, and her mother, Anna Mann Welz, age 32, and two older brothers, William, age 6, and Carl (Charlie), age 4. Alma’s younger sister, Maria (Marie), was born in 1898, and her younger brother Frank, some years after that.
The name “Alma” fit perfectly, since it means someone who “feeds one’s soul” or “lifts the spirit.” And as the eldest daughter of the family, Alma was raised to be a hausfrau, someone who saw to the needs of others. As a sister, mother, and grandmother, she was kind, loving and nurturing.
At the age of 21, Alma married William Kappelhoff, age 24, on October 3, 1916, at St. Mark’s Church on Montgomery Road in Cincinnati. Their first child, Richard, was born on July 31, 1917. Alma entered Richard in a “beautiful baby” contest, which he won. Sadly, soon afterward, he died of acute nephritis and gastro-enteritis at age 1½ on January 26, 1919. Alma’s second child, Paul, was born on May 30, 1919. Alma’s third and last child was Doris. Alma named Doris after her favorite movie star, Doris Kenyon.
Alma divorced William Kappelhoff on October 8, 1935, after 19 years of marriage. Alma supported Paul and Doris by working in a bakery. She never remarried and dedicated the rest of her life to her family—she loved cooking and cleaning. When Doris’ singing career took off, Alma was her first manager and advisor.
In her 1975 autobiography, Doris described her mother as “a darling woman” and added:
“My mother is very barrelhouse, loves to yak it up and enjoy herself, loves parties, and the more people around, the better. [She] loves Country and Western hillbilly music. She could listen to Country and Western all day long. All through my career, she’s asked me, ‘When are you going to make a Country and Western movie?’ She’s in her seventies now, lives with me, and I swear she seems to have as much pep and go as she did when I was a girl.”
Doris also shared this memory from when she was growing up: “[My mother] moved the furniture around a lot and my father would constantly fall over it. She has told me, ‘I was so stupid when I was young and first married, and didn’t know any better. Instead of waiting until your father came home from work at night to help me move the furniture, I did it myself, and believe me, I have suffered! My bladder dropped.’ That line always breaks me up, but my mother is dead serious about it. To this day, if she catches me moving furniture, she will scold me, ‘Now, Doris, stop moving that furniture—your bladder’s going to drop.’ ”
Alma was affectionately known to her family as “Nana.” She raised Doris’ son, Terry, from his birth until about age 7. In the 1950s, Alma changed her legal surname from Kappelhoff to Day. In 1955, Alma joined Doris in London during the filming of The Man Who Knew Too Much. Alma then went on to Germany, by herself, to visit family relatives.
Doris said of her mother: “I think that she would have liked performing . . . She never admitted to that, [but] I always felt that she was vicariously having this thrill through me.” Alma’s favorite song was the country tune “Summertime,” and Doris asked Perry Como to sing it on her first TV special, as a nod to her Mom.
As she aged, Alma’s eyesight deteriorated. In the mid-1970s, at age 78, Alma moved in with Doris at her house on Crescent Drive. Alma suffered a series of strokes and was hospitalized. She also developed a condition similar to Alzheimer’s. After lingering for well over a year, Alma died on Saturday, October 9, 1976, at the age of 81. Doris later wrote “I miss her very much but I’m happy in the knowledge that she is having a grand reunion with her son (my brother Paul) and all her dear family and friends who she missed so much.”
Paul died on April 8, 1957, at the age of 37, of meningitis due to cerebral hemorrhage following surgery for a cerebral aneurysm. Prior to his death, Paul changed his surname to Kappel. Alma and Paul are buried next to one another in the San Fernando Mission Cemetery in Mission Hills, Los Angeles County, California.
Here are some photos of Alma which were taken over the years. Her vivacious and fun-loving personality shines through brightly. A special “thank you” to Howard Green for the spectacular candid (posed) photo of Alma, Doris, Paul, and Paul’s wife Shirley, taken during the filming of The West Point Story.
Thank you, Alma, for giving us Doris! Happy 120th!
The name “Alma” fit perfectly, since it means someone who “feeds one’s soul” or “lifts the spirit.” And as the eldest daughter of the family, Alma was raised to be a hausfrau, someone who saw to the needs of others. As a sister, mother, and grandmother, she was kind, loving and nurturing.
At the age of 21, Alma married William Kappelhoff, age 24, on October 3, 1916, at St. Mark’s Church on Montgomery Road in Cincinnati. Their first child, Richard, was born on July 31, 1917. Alma entered Richard in a “beautiful baby” contest, which he won. Sadly, soon afterward, he died of acute nephritis and gastro-enteritis at age 1½ on January 26, 1919. Alma’s second child, Paul, was born on May 30, 1919. Alma’s third and last child was Doris. Alma named Doris after her favorite movie star, Doris Kenyon.
Alma divorced William Kappelhoff on October 8, 1935, after 19 years of marriage. Alma supported Paul and Doris by working in a bakery. She never remarried and dedicated the rest of her life to her family—she loved cooking and cleaning. When Doris’ singing career took off, Alma was her first manager and advisor.
In her 1975 autobiography, Doris described her mother as “a darling woman” and added:
“My mother is very barrelhouse, loves to yak it up and enjoy herself, loves parties, and the more people around, the better. [She] loves Country and Western hillbilly music. She could listen to Country and Western all day long. All through my career, she’s asked me, ‘When are you going to make a Country and Western movie?’ She’s in her seventies now, lives with me, and I swear she seems to have as much pep and go as she did when I was a girl.”
Doris also shared this memory from when she was growing up: “[My mother] moved the furniture around a lot and my father would constantly fall over it. She has told me, ‘I was so stupid when I was young and first married, and didn’t know any better. Instead of waiting until your father came home from work at night to help me move the furniture, I did it myself, and believe me, I have suffered! My bladder dropped.’ That line always breaks me up, but my mother is dead serious about it. To this day, if she catches me moving furniture, she will scold me, ‘Now, Doris, stop moving that furniture—your bladder’s going to drop.’ ”
Alma was affectionately known to her family as “Nana.” She raised Doris’ son, Terry, from his birth until about age 7. In the 1950s, Alma changed her legal surname from Kappelhoff to Day. In 1955, Alma joined Doris in London during the filming of The Man Who Knew Too Much. Alma then went on to Germany, by herself, to visit family relatives.
Doris said of her mother: “I think that she would have liked performing . . . She never admitted to that, [but] I always felt that she was vicariously having this thrill through me.” Alma’s favorite song was the country tune “Summertime,” and Doris asked Perry Como to sing it on her first TV special, as a nod to her Mom.
As she aged, Alma’s eyesight deteriorated. In the mid-1970s, at age 78, Alma moved in with Doris at her house on Crescent Drive. Alma suffered a series of strokes and was hospitalized. She also developed a condition similar to Alzheimer’s. After lingering for well over a year, Alma died on Saturday, October 9, 1976, at the age of 81. Doris later wrote “I miss her very much but I’m happy in the knowledge that she is having a grand reunion with her son (my brother Paul) and all her dear family and friends who she missed so much.”
Paul died on April 8, 1957, at the age of 37, of meningitis due to cerebral hemorrhage following surgery for a cerebral aneurysm. Prior to his death, Paul changed his surname to Kappel. Alma and Paul are buried next to one another in the San Fernando Mission Cemetery in Mission Hills, Los Angeles County, California.
Here are some photos of Alma which were taken over the years. Her vivacious and fun-loving personality shines through brightly. A special “thank you” to Howard Green for the spectacular candid (posed) photo of Alma, Doris, Paul, and Paul’s wife Shirley, taken during the filming of The West Point Story.
Thank you, Alma, for giving us Doris! Happy 120th!
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