Doris Jeanne JONES

1930 - 2007  (77 years)

• Name	Doris Jeanne JONES
  Birth	3 Jan 1930	Missouri
  Gender	Female
  Death	19 May 2007	Minnesota
  Notes	She was blond, beautiful and 5 feet 8 in the late 1940s, the perfect profile for a brief career as a model. And even during her final days at a care center, Doris Tonsager still wore high heels and occasionally a leopard-print ensemble. Tonsager, who died at age 77 last week of complications from dementia, went from model to 1950s-era Braniff Airlines stewardess to Army wife to antique-shop owner in Minnetonka. She was "very classy, I would say sophisticated," said her oldest daughter, Elizabeth Charron. Tonsager talked of meeting celebrities and movie stars during her days as a stewardess, including author Ernest Hemingway in Italy. Charron said she remembered seeing pictures of her mother wearing her stewardess outfit - a hat and tight-fitting skirt - and also of the planes her mother would serve on. "I know they were old-looking and scary-looking and just didn't look very modern," Charron said of the propeller-driven aircraft. Her mother, who was born in Kansas City and moved to the Twin Cities for her airline job, was almost turned down for it because she was deemed too tall. Tonsager was strong-willed, said Charron, and eventually turned to other careers, including real estate, and started a mail-order catalog featuring homemade curtains and bath accessories. She would say, "This is what I'm going to do, by golly," her daughter said. Tonsager also opened the Windy Hills Farm antique store in Minnetonka, remodeling an old farmhouse near Clear Spring Road. "We made the home into the [store]. They [Tonsager and her husband, James] remodeled the barn and we lived in the barn," said Charron. She said she remembers camera crews using the store as a backdrop when filming TV commercials for Granola Bars. Tonsager was preceded in death by her husband and a son Patrick. She is survived by three children, Charron of Princeton, Minn.; John Tonsager of Maple Grove, and Mary Tonsager of Minneapolis. Tonsager, Doris Jean, (Jones) Born in Kansas City MO, January 3rd, 1930 to Harold and Mary Jones. Left us peacefully on May 19th, after a long illness. Preceded in death by husband, James; son, Patrick; and brother, Harold. Survived by brother, Dave Jones & family; son, John Tonsager (Brenda); daughter, Elizabeth Charron (Zach); daughter, Mary Tonsager; grandchildren, Chris Tonsager, and Ryan Faricy. Doris was a woman of strong character, fun-loving nature, extremely talented, and had a generous heart. Others needs were always more important than her own. By the age of seventeen, she began a very interesting and fascinating life that included modeling, working for Braniff Airlines as a stewardess, meeting writers, movie stars and world travel. Right after her marriage, Doris and her husband Jim were stationed in Frankfurt Germany from 1957-1960, a country she dearly loved. Doris also owned and operated her own business' including real estate, and the Windy Hills Farm antique shop in Minnetonka. A great mother, her children will always be enlightened by her generous spirit and fun loving nature.
  Person ID	I22319	Don Carlson's Tree
  Last Modified	17 Dec 2015

  
  

  Family	James Richard TONSAGER,   b. 17 Dec 1930, Hennepin County, Minnesota d. 6 Mar 2001, Hennepin County, Minnesota (Age 70 years)
  Marriage	20 Sep 1952	Jackson County, Missouri
  Divorce	9 May 1985	Hennepin County, Minnesota
  Children	1. James Patrick TONSAGER,   b. 18 Jan 1957, Monterey County, California d. 19 Dec 2002, Minnesota (Age 45 years)
  Family ID	F16072	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart
  Last Modified	17 Dec 2015