Hon. Doris T. Appel

Doris Elaine Terwilliger Appel, 98, passed away peacefully at her home in North Chatham, NY on

August 17, 2025. She was born in 1927 in New Paltz, NY to Earl Terwilliger and Marguerite

(Quick) Terwilliger. She graduated from Poughkeepsie High School in 1944. During WWII, she

was employed as a draftsman by Sedgewick Machine Works, which made airplane lifting

elevators for aircraft carriers, and by the shipyard in Newburgh, NY where cargo ships were

retrofitted into Victory Ships for the war effort.

She married Frank Eberhard of Poughkeepsie in 1948 and had two daughters, Linda Ellen and

Dawn. The marriage ended in 1957. In 1958, Doris married John Appel Jr. of Albany, NY, who

was employed as a civil engineer by the New York Telephone Company. John and Doris moved

to North Chatham and began a long, close and happy relationship with the community. They

had two more daughters, Jill Elaine and Joy Eileen. Many summers John and Doris brought all

their daughters to see the United States in the family station wagon and trailer, creating lasting

family memories and appreciation for the country's parks and wild and scenic places. Doris and

John shared many fun activities with their close friends in town, including bocce ball

tournaments down Main Street, tubing down the creek, and square dancing and parties at the

fire house. John passed away in 1984. Later that year Doris met Earle "Kels" Kelsey, an

accountant and Siena college professor. They spent the next thirty-five years together, golfing

and traveling and enjoying friends and family, until Kels' death in 2020.

Doris was both a leader and a servant in her community. She taught knitting to 4-H members

and crafted her own collection of cross-stitch samplers and knitted blankets. Doris and her

mother hand-stitched quilts for all four daughters and together they designed and coordinated

the making of the North Chatham Bi-Centennial Quilt in 1976.

Doris was a long-standing member of the North Chatham United Methodist Church. She taught

Sunday School for fifteen years and served on many church committees. She was the first

female member of the NCUMC Board of Trustees and chaired the Board for over twenty years.

She is perhaps known best for her indefatigable running of the White Elephant at the annual

Lord's Acre Auction right up until the last auction was held in 2019. She is likely also known for

the outrageous annual holiday women's skits she co-wrote and performed with the ladies of the

church.

Doris served as President of the North Chatham Cemetery Association and the North Chatham

Free Library. She was a founding member of the North Chatham Historical Society, and of the

North Chatham Concerned Citizens which was a group that successfully opposed the building of

a New York State Thruway rest stop at the edge of town.

Doris' career as a public servant in the Chatham Town Court system began in 1968 when her

husband John was elected Chatham Town Justice and Doris assumed the role of Court Clerk. She

served as clerk for seventeen years, and when John died in 1984, she was appointed to the

Town Justice position. She was re-elected seven times. She served as President of the Columbia

County Magistrates Association and on the Executive Committee of the New York State

Magistrates Association. She retired on December 31, 2011 after 27 years and 9 months of

service. One of Doris' favorite duties as a judge was wedding ceremonies; she performed more

than 250 weddings in many interesting places, including her back yard. In 2022 at the age of 95,

Doris had the pleasure of officiating the wedding of her grandson Patrick and his wife Alexis.

In her later years, Doris enjoyed visiting family in Maine, Vermont, and Virginia, hosting family

holiday gatherings, and playing Mexican Train dominoes with family and friends. She was an

avid reader and loved jigsaw puzzles and Sudoku. She was virtually unbeatable at cribbage. She

also enjoyed her cat Ms. Tee, dinners with her friend Dottie, and her continued work with the

North Chatham Historical Society.

Doris was predeceased by her brother, Jay Terwilliger, son-in-law Dennis King and grandson

Cooper King. She is survived by her four daughters, Linda King of Hancock, ME; Dawn Eberhard

(Jeffrey Luke) of Richmond VA; Jill Appel (Marc Silver) of West Windsor, VT; and Joy Appel

Schermerhorn of Valatie, NY; also six grandchildren and 2 great-grandchildren.

A celebration of Doris Appel's life will be held on Saturday, October 4th at Noon at the North

Chatham United Methodist Church. Please bring your mementos and memories to share. There

will be a presentation by the New York State Magistrates Association during the service.

Donations in Doris' memory can be made to the Maine Community Foundation – Cooper E. King

Scholarship Fund, P.O. Box 200, Ellsworth ME 04605, or the North Chatham Historical Society,

P.O. Box 243, North Chatham NY 12132.