Dorris Virginia Barrett Tynsky

Dorris Virginia Tynsky, 89, passed away in the early morning hours of November 16, 2023, after a lengthy pulmonary illness.

She was born in Jackson County, Georgia, and reared in Abbeville, SC. Directly after high school, she joined the United States Air Force. Her first assignment was Ruislip Air Force Base near London, England. She worked in Public Relations alongside the Royal Air Force. Her time in England was among her favorite; taking all her leave time to travel through Jerusalem, Egypt, and Greece.

Returning stateside, she was assigned to Barksdale Air Force Base in Louisiana where she met her future husband, an infantry paratrooper named Joseph Tynsky. Upon first seeing her, he knew “she was the one”, but it wouldn’t be easy. Her first words to him were, “I hope you’re smarter than you look.” He was. They married in Marshall, Texas, on Sept. 15, 1960.

Marriage did not stop her peripatetic lifestyle. Over the next twenty-six years of marriage and with three children in tow; they lived in Wyoming, Arizona, California, Montana, Maryland, overseas in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, Wisconsin, and Oklahoma.

After her husband passed away, she returned to military service, finishing her career with the Oklahoma Army National Guard 1120^th Supply and Service Company as a recruiter and family counselor. She served active duty in 1990-1991 during Desert Storm.

Feisty, witty, and ready to find any angle to challenge you to think again, she was an original. If something needed done, she was the first to roll up her sleeves. She applied that same grit to the difficult illnesses she endured in her later years.

Out of her ten siblings, including a twin brother Morris, she is survived by only one, Bradley Barrett. She is also survived by her son, Joe Tynsky, Jr. and his wife Coby; and a daughter Anna Tynsky. She was preceded in death by her husband LTC Joseph R. Tynsky, USPHS, and a daughter, Kathleen Tynsky.

Her extended South Carolina family was never far from her heart. She is finally returning home to be laid to rest next to her husband at the Midway Baptist Church Cemetery in Abbeville County, South Carolina.

Funeral services will be held at 1:00PM, Thursday, November 30, 2023, at Harris Funeral Home, Abbeville Chapel, 302 N. Main Street, Abbeville, SC 29620. Burial will follow in Midway Baptist Church Cemetery.

A message of condolence may be sent to the family by visiting www.harrisfuneral.com.

Harris Funeral Home & Cremation Services of Abbeville is assisting the Tynsky family.