Motown ICONS: Doris Holland remembered
I was very grateful for the kind comments that BritishTony made in the recent thread on the MF Overnight Hotel Accommodations in Detroit During the Golden Era, posting #19. Which made me think probably a lot of forum members don't know the role Doris played in the Motown Museum. Here for your information is a little background on her.
From the Detroit Free Press obituary.
"In all the excitement during the heyday of Motown Records--recording sessions, concert tours, contracts and all--secretary Doris Jean Holland kept things running smoothly. She seemed to know everything about the business, and folks knew where they should go to get things done. 'She was the stabilizer,' said Motown Historical Museum chairwoman Esther Gordy Edwards, for whom Mrs. Holland was a secretary for more than 20 years.
Mrs. Holland, who started working at Motown in 1962 as a typist and worked in several departments, died of complication from surgery February 12, 1997, at Detroit Riverview Hospital. She was 61 and lived on Detroit's east side.
Mrs. Edwards said she plans to create a memorial for Mrs. Holland at the Hitsville USA building on West Grand Boulevard--the original headquarters that now houses the museum. At Motown, Mrs. Holland also assisted the personal managers of some of the biggest stars. 'All of the artists loved her,' Mrs. Edwards said. 'She worked with everybody: Diana Ross, Smokey Robinson, the Four Tops, the Temptations.'
After the company left Detroit in 1972, Mrs. Holland continued working in its local office and helped organize the museum. She was a retired corporate secretary there and retired in 1995.
The former Doris Jean Steele was born in Greenville, Ala. She graduated from River Rouge High School and was a secretary for the NAACP, the Girl Scouts, and the Michigan Employment Security Commission before she began working for the record company.
She was survived by her husband of 42 years, Lincoln, a son, three daughters, two brothers, five sisters, and three grandchildren.
The visitation was held at the James H. Cole Home for Funerals in the West Grand Boulevard location near the museum. She was buried in Woodlawn Cemetery."
I have met Doris numerous times. She was a wealth of information. Her husband Lincoln was always at the museum helping out.
They were both true Motown Icons. I recall when Mrs. Edwards personally called me to inform me of her passing. She was devastated.
Long live the memory of Doris Holland.
