Doris Lorraine Garraway: Gone Too Soon, But Never Forgotten

By: Donald V. Watkins

Copyrighted and Published on November 30, 2025

Doris Lorraine Garraway (1972-2025).

My niece Doris Lorraine Garraway, age 53, died from pancreatic cancer on October. 4, 2025.  Her memorial service was held at the Alice Millar Chapel on the campus of Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois on November 8, 2025. Her committal service was held on November 26, 2025, at the chapel at Resurrection Cemetery near Doris' hometown of Worthington, Ohio. 

Doris’ death has devastated the close-knit Watkins family.  My sister, Annie Marie Watkins Garraway Deep, is Doris’ mother.  Marie, together with Doris’ two siblings, Alex and Isla, wrote this loving tribute to her:

“Doris Garraway, a consummate intellectual, passionate humanitarian, devoted wife and mother, dedicated faculty member and scholar of the French and Italian Department at Northwestern University for more than two decades, passed away after a heroic battle with pancreatic cancer on October 4, 2025, surrounded by her loving family. She was 53.

Born in Columbus, Ohio on July 22, 1972, Doris cultivated a lifetime love of learning and commitment to excellence from a young age. Her academic brilliance, which often seemed effortless, was anchored by a seriousness and sustained work ethic that consistently amazed her family, classmates, and teachers. This same intensity propelled Doris to become a gifted pianist and captain of her high school varsity tennis team.

Doris earned her bachelor’s degree in French Literature and Economics as a Regent’s scholar at the University of California, Berkeley. Thereafter, she obtained a Ph.D. in French Literature at Duke University. During this time, Doris received research awards and fellowships from the Ford Foundation, Ann Firor Scott, the US Department of Education, and the Duke Presidential Endowment. Her dissertation research utilized ethnographic approaches to investigate the emergence of Creole languages and cultures in the French Caribbean, an endeavor that would define her scholarly interests for years to come.

She joined the faculty at Northwestern in 2000, where her passion for French Caribbean literature and historical writings catalyzed a legacy of research, teaching, and advising innumerable graduate and undergraduate students. Her lectures brought to life many aspects of the Caribbean experience and culture, from slavery through postcolonial eras, in a reflective and dignifying manner. Indeed, Doris gifted her colleagues and generations of students with extraordinary grace and an unwavering commitment to the highest standards of both academic and interpersonal excellence. She applied critical approaches to textual nuance, which unlocked key insights with broader implications for literature, language, art, and culture that often extend to the present era.

Doris was a stellar presence in the field of French and Francophone Caribbean studies. Her signature books: The Libertine Colony: Creolization in the Early French Caribbean (which she authored), and Tree of Liberty: Cultural Legacies of the Haitian Revolution in the Atlantic World (which she co-edited), became foundational volumes for Francophone scholarship.

An engaging speaker, Doris delivered numerous invited lectures globally and organized major conferences on a wide range topics related to her expertise. Her research interests also included art, theater, and ritual in Haiti, as well as perspectives from women and marginalized populations in Caribbean literature. She was recognized with numerous fellowships and awards throughout her career, including from the Kaplan Humanities Center and Princeton University's Shelby Collum Davis Center for Historical Studies, and the Herman and Beulah Pearce Miller Research Professorship at Northwestern.

Furthermore, Doris held several academic leadership roles at Northwestern, including Chair of the Department of French and Italian (2019-22), Director of French Undergraduate Studies (2013-17) and Director of French Graduate Studies (2005-11). Notably, she served as Chair of the Department during the pandemic, and it was her steady hand and passionate attachment to fairness that successfully led the department through the turmoil of those years. She was committed to investigating questions of discrimination and social justice and, during the same period, became the catalyst for collective discussions on the past and future of our country. She was and will continue to be beloved and admired by colleagues and students alike.

Doris found immense joy and balance outside of academia as well. In addition to her sustained dedication to the piano, she became an avid flamenco dancer. She loved the outdoors and would spend hours walking the trails alongside Lake Michigan and hiking or exploring while traveling. Doris was profoundly interested in people. The extensive personal time she would spend in conversations to understand their personal experiences, always offering encouragement and affirmation, was a hallmark of her character. This generosity of spirit was fueled by a deep-seated faith and abiding spirituality. During quiet weekends, she could be found immersed in her book collection, planning projects to add artful beauty and tranquility to her home, searching for treasures in antique stores, or browsing The New York Times."

Doris is survived by her devoted husband of fifteen years, Michael Baker, and her daughter, Isla Baker, who were the great loves of her life and her pride and joy.  She is preceded in death by her father, Michael O. Garraway, and her grandparents, Levi and Lillian Watkins.

As a family, we are still grieving.  Doris is gone now, but she will never be forgotten.