Oakdale-Celebration of Life services honoring Doris LaVern Whitley Gates, 90, will be held at 11 o'clock a.m. on Friday morning, August 15, 2025, at Ardoin/Allen Parish Funeral Home of Oakdale. Rev. Ryan Bond, First Baptist Church of Oakdale, will officiate. Doris will be laid to rest at Cryer Cemetery in Oakdale immediately following her services.

Doris's family will receive friends and visitors at Ardoin/Allen Parish Funeral Home of Oakdale on Thursday evening, August 14, 2025, from 6-8 o'clock p.m. Doris's visitation will resume at Ardoin/Allen Parish Funeral Home of Oakdale on Friday morning, August 15, 2025, from 8:30 am until time of service. All of Doris's arrangements have been entrusted to the care of Ardoin/Allen Parish Funeral Home of Oakdale.

Doris was born on February 21, 1935, to the union of Sidney Whitley and Lena Peters. She was a devoted wife and mother. Doris was a hard worker and employed for 30 years in banking. She was an outgoing person and made many friends while working. Doris loved spending time with her family, quilting and embroidering in her spare time. She also loved being outdoors and working in her flower beds. Doris was a kind and caring person and will be forever missed and unconditionally loved by all who knew her.

Pallbearers honored to serve will be Derek, Mark, and Bruce Johnson, Charles and Charlie Simon, and John West.

Those left to cherish Doris's memory include her two sons, Robert L. Johnson Jr. and wife Jane of Peachtree City, Georgia, and Bruce Johnson and wife Wanda of Oakdale, LA, one daughter, Jennifer Ruth Johnson Simon and husband Charles of Pine Prairie, LA; one daughter-in-law, Angie Johnson of Oakdale, LA; one sister, Janette Goss of Little Rock, AR; seven grandchildren, ten great grandchildren; the father of her children; Robert L. Johnson Sr; and a host of nieces, nephews, extended family members and friends.

Doris is preceded in death by her parents Sidney and Lena Peters Whitley; her husband Clayton Gates; one son, Sid Johnson; and two sisters, Lilly and Leah.

Condolences and expressions of sympathy may be shared with Doris's family at www.ardoinfuneralhome.com or on Facebook at Ardoin/Allen Parish Funeral Homes.