Doris, who has been researching her roots since 2004, was gobsmacked when she discovered a family link to king of comedy Stan Laurel.
She discovered a distant relative, William Henry Healey, married a woman named Beatrice Olga Jefferson – sister of the actor Arthur Stanley Jefferson, better known as comedy master Stan Laurel.
Laurel and his sidekick Oliver Hardy – recently immortalised in bronze – captivated early cinema-goers with their slapstick mishaps.
In a partnership lasting 31 years, Stan and Ollie appeared together in 106 short films and motion pictures, spanning the silent era until the 1950s.
Their partnership ended in 1956 when Hardy, who was born in Georgia, US, suffered a heart attack and died a year later.
Laurel was honoured with a Lifetime Achievement Award at the Oscars in 1961 and died in February 1965.
Their bronze statue was recently unveiled in Stan's home town of Ulverston, Cumbria. The statue has been placed in Ulverston's County Square where Stan brought Ollie in 1947 and they waved from the balcony of the Coronation Hall to a huge crowd of fans below.
An elated Doris, Fairmead community warden, said: "I didn't believe the family link at first so I checked and double-checked. I went back through a different ancestor and in a different direction and ended up at the same place.
"I couldn't believe it. I was so excited and I've been telling anyone who will listen!"
Doris was inspired after looking at some of her mum Margaret's old family photos.
She added: "I asked my mum at first about the photos. I knew my grandparents' names and a few details to get me started."
As Doris' interest deepened she managed to obtain copies of several family marriage, birth and death certificates giving her further clues.
Over the years she has also done extensive research on www.ancestry.co.uk as well as visiting churches and checking parish records for information about her ancestors.
A copy of the 1718 will of a relative, John Healey, also proved fruitful. Most of her family links trace back to Leicestershire and Lincolnshire.
Another of her interesting discoveries has been that her great great uncle, Sergeant Wallace Healey, was in charge of dragging the Leicester Canal in the case of the Green Bicycle Murder in Leicestershire in 1919.
Doris has been able to confirm links by comparing notes with Wallace's great grandson who she learned was also researching the family tree.
She added: "I have reams and reams of information. You can go on indefinitely but the further back you go the more difficult it is. I just find it fascinating tracing your family history. At times it's like the past is coming to life before your eyes."