Doris Bogen was born in 1932 in Allegheny, Pennsylvania to Walter and Adelaide Bogen. Her father was a professional violinist and music teacher, and Doris Bogen began learning to play the piano and violin at a young age. Bogen married violist William "Bill" Preucil in 1954 and in 1958 the couple moved to Iowa City where Bill became a music professor at the State University of Iowa (today the University of Iowa).

While raising their four young children, Preucil began teaching violin lessons out of her home in Iowa City. In 1962, she learned about the Suzuki Method, a practice from Japan, which helped children as young at three become musicians. With fifteen students, the Preucils' basement became one of the first five Suzuki programs outside of Japan. Her teaching attracted the attention of Western Illinois University, where she taught violin and Suzuki pedagogy from 1972 to 1976 as an assistant professor. Her work also attracted the attention of parents in Iowa City, who increasingly wanted to enroll their children with Preucil and her assistant teachers.

In response to the Suzuki method's popularity, the Preucils purchased the historic Czechoslovakian Hall in 1974 and officially opened the Preucil School in 1975. Within a year it had 250 students. Preucil became involved in propagating Suzuki regionally and internationally and was instrumental in starting Suzuki programs around Iowa. She also served as president of the Suzuki Association of the Americas from 1982 to 1984 and chair of the organization's Teacher Development Committee for twelve years.

Doris Preucil retired as director of the Preucil School in 1997 but remained as emeritus faculty to teach violin lessons. In retirement, Preucil and her husband stayed active in the Preucil School and continued to train teachers and perform.