An Extraordinary Life: ‘She was tough, but she was sensitive’

Lockport’s first female policer officer was honored Feb. 24 during a dedication ceremony of a recently installed fire pit at 921 S. State St. in Lockport.

The Lockport Volunteer Fire Department, Lockport City Hall and the Lockport Police Department were housed at that location through the years. The building now is home to Rainbow Council, Boy Scouts of America, according to a news release from the city of Lockport.

During the ceremony, the city of Lockport, the Lockport Police Department and the Lockport Township Fire Protection District honored Delores “Doris” Feithen, as well as the others who served the police department and the fire protection district through the years, according to the release.

Doris was a Lockport police officer from 1957 to 1977 and served with “honor and distinction” at a time when the U.S. had few female police officers, according to the release.

Her son, Bill Feithen of DeKalb, said many family members on both sides of his family worked in the area of public safety. This included his father, William, a full-time police officer for 10 years and then a part-time police officer for 10 years ; his mother’s father and Bill himself, the former chief of the police departments in DeKalb and Monmouth.

“I know that she was quite the woman,” Bill said of his mother, Doris. “I know that many of her nieces and granddaughters especially looked at her as a trailblazer. … certainly her example and my dad’s example, and the fact that I had so much contact with officers and the police department, is what caused me to go into [public safety]. And I’m always grateful for those memories.”

Doris was 100 when she died Nov. 17.

Pat Gleason, Doris’ oldest daughter, said Doris was born and raised in Lockport, the oldest of four children – two brothers and a sister, all deceased. Doris attended St. Dennis School, known as Sacred Heart School at the time, and Lockport Township High School, Pat said.

“She did not go to college,” Pat said. “But she did learn shorthand and things like that.”

Because Lockport was so small at the time, Doris could walk “all over town” with her friends, even when she was in grade school. Pat said.

“It was very safe wherever you went,” Pat said. “We had relatives scattered all over town. Talk about real ‘hometown.’ ”

Before Doris became a police officer, she was a secretary to an attorney in Joliet and had worked for the Miller’s Ace Hardware in Lockport, Pat said.

Pat was a freshman in high school when Doris became a police officer and recalls how Doris attended Pat’s school events in uniform.

“She really enjoyed it,” Pat said. “It was right up her alley. She was a very organized person, so that helped.”

In addition to Doris’ organizational skills, she had the right personality for the job.

“People at the time of her passing would just say, ‘Bill, she was such a classy woman,’ ” Bill said. “And I can always remember that she was tough, but she was sensitive, too. … Police officers go into tough situations, familywise – accidents, crime scenes – and deal with crime victims. I think you have to be strong enough to deal with all those types of scenarios, yet be sensitive to the needs of the citizens. I saw that all the time in my mom and dad growing up.”

Lynda O’Brien of Joliet, Doris’ youngest daughter, said she was 7 when Doris became a police officer, Doris worked in the front office, answering phones, selling city stickers and typing reports, Lynda said.

“Really, the only time she had to do police officer-type duties was if a female was arrested and brought in,” Lynda said. “If she was home, she would get a phone call and they would have to come and pick her up and bring her down so she could search the female. I think that was because she was really the only female officer at that point.”

The police station was a short walk from St. Dennis School, where Doris’ kids attended, Lynda said. Lynda often popped inside the station on her way home from school to say hi to her mom or to pick up money for the orthodontist when Lynda wore braces in the fifth grade. Then, Lynda would “catch a bus” to the orthodontist.

“When I came back on the bus, I would walk to the police station,” Lynda said. “By that time, she had gone home. But whoever worked the other shift knew me and would call my mom and let [her] know I was back and ready to be picked up.”

Bill said many female police officers of that time, although they carried a gun, were assigned inside duties.

“It really took a long time for women to establish themselves in police departments to the point they were allowed to work on the streets,” Bill said. “And men, over the years, were raised to be protective of women. I think that was part of it.”

Bill recalled some discussion later in his mother’s career on whether or not she should apply to the Illinois State Police District 5. Doris decided against it.

“She realized that if she was hired by the state police, they could move her anywhere around the state, and she did not want to take the chance,” Bill said. “She was a Lockport person her entire life. She did not want to leave Lockport and move away from family. I think that was the bottom line.”

Bill said his grandmother also lived with the family, which he felt made it easier for Doris to work. But when Doris came home, she cleaned and did laundry like many other mothers of that era did, he said ,and added with a laugh, “Unlike a lot of kids, I couldn’t go inside my mom’s purse for a stick of gum.”

Lynda felt Doris easily transitioned between her work life and home life.

“As soon as she was home, she was out of her police uniform and into her mom clothes,” Lynda said. “She was a really good mom,” Lynda said. “She was a very fair person, for one thing – and very loving. She liked to have a good time and joke around and things like that. But she made you toe the line.”

Bill said that, of his two parents, Willian was more protective, especially with him. His father did not want Bill to play sports for fear he might injure himself, Bill said.

He recalled the times when he was in grade school and junior high school and built tree forts 30 feet in the air. Bill said his father would say to Doris, “He’s going to break his neck.” Doris would counter, ‘If he’s going to get hurt, he’s going to get hurt,’ ” Bill said.

Doris also was secretary of the Lockport Police Pension Board for many years. She was active in the St. Dennis parent-teacher organization during all the years her children attended the school. She also was very active in the St. Dennis Altar and Rosary Society for many years and belonged to the Lockport VFW women’s auxiliary and the Illinois Police Association.

“One thing that always stuck out to me about my mother is that she wasn’t a gossiper,” Bill said. “You can be around somebody who likes to chatter and talk about somebody, but my mom wasn’t like that. I don’t know if that’s the way she was raised or something to do with her experience in police work. You just don’t talk about the job when you go home. You don’t’ share those things. That has always stood out with me. She was understanding, thoughtful and not a complainer. Even when she was in the nursing home, she was not a complainer.”

Bill’s wife, Lori, said she always had a good time with Doris with things such as going out to dinner and taking family vacations to Wisconsin.

“You could not ask for a nicer woman,” Lori said. “I don’t remember her ever having a bad day in all the years I knew her. She was always a very positive person. … even the grandkids were close to her. In the nursing home, she’d get visits from some of them at least once a week.”

Pat said Doris lived her last six years in a nursing home because she needed care after a stroke.

“She loved to laugh when we visited her in the nursing home,” Pat said. “There was nothing she liked better than to hear us give each other a hard time, and she’d really start laughing.”

Ultimately, Doris’ legacy is less about her role than who was she.

“She was a loving, caring person,” Lynda said. “And always wanted to do what was right. What else can I say?”