Doris A. Segar (1925 – 2021)
Doris Segar supported The Colorado Hearing Foundation with generous annual donations for many years. With many of her friends noticeably reaching ages where hearing loss was beginning to interfere with their communication and daily lives, Ms. Segar developed an interest in trying to help them cope with their hearing problems. She found that helping fund the projects of The Colorado Hearing Foundation over the years, she has been able to directly and indirectly provide benefits for children and adults with hearing loss.
Doris Segar was born on a family farm in Minburn, Iowa. An avid reader and eager to learn about life in the big cities, she abandoned her Iowa farm life by the young age of 17 and headed off on her own to Business College in Des Moines. The next few years were filled with a variety of adventurous jobs from taking flying lessons and working at a small airport, learning the retail business by working in a large department store and finally working her way up to serving as Executive Secretary to the President at Lockheed Aircraft in Southern California. She met and married a returning World War II veteran she had befriended as a pen-pal soldier and started her family.
However, after her first marriage dissolved, Doris set off in new directions leading her to a long-term business career with her second husband. They undertook the arduous and challenging task of turning a failing small plastic manufacturing company that they purchased from Hyatt Industries into a successful enterprise. Empowered by the immortal words of Dustin Hoffman from a popular movie of the time, that "…the future is in plastics", their small plastic company grew into a major manufacturer and distributor of plastic containers and plastic packaging. After several years of business growth and successful manufacturing, they sold their company to a prominent seasonings company. Shortly thereafter, Doris and her husband split and went their separate ways.
Financially able to direct her own life by this time, Doris took on several new challenges and business opportunities. Working with her daughter, she opened and operated a woman's specialty clothing boutique in an upscale shopping area in Denver. During her lifetime she traveled the world extensively, both as a tourist and as a competitive duplicate bridge player. With her expertise in duplicate bridge, she earned the honor of Life Master from the American Contract Bridge League.
She was extraordinarily generous through the years with her volunteer time and charitable donations. Doris worked with the American Cancer Society to open their first consignment clothing store in Southern California. An accomplished artist and painter, Ms. Segar contributed many of her paintings to benefit charities and for the enjoyment of her many friends.
Ms. Segar was indeed a champion for the Colorado Hearing Foundation serving on the Board of Directors for several years. Her charitable efforts helped many and we are grateful that she chose to be so involved with our activities.