Date: August 14, 2006
About: Doris Kelle - Class of 1933

Looking Into The Minds Mirror: Quincy Woman has Decades of Experience in the Science of Handwriting Analysis

Source: Quincy Herald-Whig
Author: Kelly Wilson

Doris Kelle can tell quite a bit from a person's handwriting.

Just by looking at someone's signature, for instance, Kelle can tell "if they're lying, if they have a good outlook on their future life, if they can be trusted," she said.

She says she can tell if someone's not feeling well by noting wobbly lines in his or her writing, or if a person has a troubled life by looking at whether they dot i's and cross t's.

"Criminals write every which way, and they forget to dot i's and cross t's," Kelle said.

"Handwriting is a mirror of your mind at the time you're writing," she said. "As you change and as you have things happen to you, it changes your writing. You really don't realize what a thermostat it is for you."

Kelle, a resident of Good Samaritan Home in Quincy, has been a handwriting analyst for years and has helped law enforcement with criminal cases. But she mostly enjoys handwriting analysis to help people get a better understanding of themselves and make improvements in their writing — and as a result, their lives.

"Sometimes they learn, 'I shouldn't act this way,' and some of them become better people. They learn to correct some of their bad habits," Kelle said. "You can change yourself, but you have to work hard at it."

Kelle has lived most of her life in Quincy and has been a resident of Good Samaritan Home for about a year. She wouldn't tell a recent visitor how old she is, but handwriting analysis has been a part of her life for decades.

She became interested in it when she attended a lecture and then began studying in earnest.

"It intrigued me. It just wrapped its fingers around me. I just wanted to do it," she said.

"This is a science. This is not voodoo. I'm not a witch. I'm not a fortune teller. It is used in the law, and it is used in the government."

At one time, Kelle worked for the state in rehabilitation, and her supervisor would bring her samples of writing.

"If I would see something detrimental, I would tell him," she said. "He would laugh at me, but then he would come back and say I was right."

She remembers looking at one person's handwriting and noticing a creative flair, and she told her boss he should encourage that creativity. Her analysis was on target, because her boss then revealed a drawing the person had done.

At Good Samaritan, some of the staff, residents and visitors ask Kelle to analyze their writing. She's happy to do it, but insists they write in front of her so she knows it's their handwriting. She won't analyze anyone's handwriting without permission.

"I only use it for assistance and for good," she said. "I'm honest. There are some (handwriting analysts) that are dishonest and some that take up the study maliciously."

She says a good handwriting analyst should be inquisitive, careful and conscious of the other person's feelings. The person also should have an analytical mind, a good heart and good eyes.

But the most important characteristic of a good handwriting analyst, Kelle says, is "a love for your fellow man."

Contact Staff Writer Kelly Wilson

at kwilson@whig.com or (217) 221-3391