Clovis Senior in the Spotlight: Diana Marie (Doolittle) Landers

I was born on May 30, 1949, in a small hospital on Pollasky Avenue in the Clovis Sanitarium and delivered by Dr. Pendergrass. My parents were Cates and Doolittles.

On Mother’s side, the Cates, were some of the first settlers in Clovis going back as far as the 1800s. My maternal grandparents were married in Whittier and made their way to Clovis by horse and buggy. Grandma Cate used to tell us the story of how they got lost and kept crossing the same creek over and over, back and forth until they finally made their way to Clovis. I have forgotten how long it took them from the Los Angeles area.

The Cates lived in a tent on their newly purchased 2,000-acre spread on DeWolf and Bullard avenues. (They said they paid 25 cents an acre!) As the years went on, the Cates owned and ran a soda fountain located on Pollasky Avenue in Old Town Clovis, I think in the building the Avon store is now located.

The Doolittles claimed they pushed a Model T Ford all the way to Clovis from Helena, Montana. In my family tree research, I discovered the Doolittles date back to the 1600s. In my dad’s family there were four brothers. Also in my research, I found that four Doolittle brothers landed at Plymouth Rock on the Mayflower.

Once here they purchased property at Leonard and Ashlan avenues. Both of them raised dairy cows and grew grain for them to eat. They also sold grain to local farmers.

My parents met while riding horses on their respective farms. Their union produced four girls. We were raised on the Cates’ homestead that was gifted to my parents when my grandparents “retired.”

My mother was 88 years old when she passed away in 2007, still living on the ranch. My dad followed her in death in November of 2008; he was 93 years old and still on the ranch, too.

I am the youngest of the four girls. Two sisters have passed on, Peggy in 1995 and Carol died five months after my dad. My sister Rosalie is still making Clovis her home. My sisters and I had a great time as youngsters riding horses around the 88-acre ranch. We just loved taking care of all the animals we had on the ranch.

I graduated from Clovis High School in 1967, at that time located where San Joaquin School of Law is now. I became a cosmetologist and owned my own business until I met and married Roger A. Landers. At that time we decided to move to Burleson, Texas, for Roger’s job working on railroad construction.

Roger and I had three children, two boys and a girl. We moved back here to Clovis when Roger became gravely ill. He passed away in 1990. About three years later, I went back to work for Clovis Unified School District just to keep busy. I then started working for the IRS for their attorneys. (I loved that job!) I like it most because I got to travel for the attorneys. I stayed there until I retired.

I now travel as much as possible. I spend two to three weeks a year in Kauai, Hawaii, and at least a month camping in the mountains with my grandkids. I have two grandsons, 6 and 13 years old and a granddaughter, 11 years old. I also have an 18-year-old step-grandson and 16-year-old step-granddaughter. I am trying to teach all the grandkids the things my grandparents taught me while we all hang out around the campfires in the mountains.

I’m most proud of my three children. My oldest son lives in Dallas, Texas, and works in construction management. My second son lives in Clovis and is supervisor for a wind machine company. My daughter lives in Clovis also and is a dental assistant for children. They have great families.

My grandchildren love to play sports, so I’m busy attending their games and anything else they participate in at school, like Grandparents Day and award presentations.

I spend a lot of time at the Clovis Senior Activity Center. I attend the exercise class on a regular basis. I highly recommend it for seniors. I sometimes lead the class if needed. I attend the Top Dollar Music Dudes music and dance on Wednesday mornings, I love to dance. I play cards with friends I have met at the senior center, and also join some of the group trips through the senior center. I enjoy all of it keeping me busy and also having great friendships there.

This story was originally published January 1, 2017 at 4:48 PM with the headline "Clovis Senior in the Spotlight: Diana Marie (Doolittle) Landers."