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March 20, 2014
Services
Friends may visit with the family at the Vander May Wayne Colonial Funeral Home, 567 Ratzer Road, Wayne, on Sunday, March 23, 2014 from 4-7 PM. Funeral Services will be held at 10 AM on Monday, March 24, 2014 at the funeral home, followed by burial at the 1st Reformed Church Cemetery, Pompton Plains.
Friends wishing to honor Harry with a memorial donation are asked to consider the Salvation Army, 545 W. Broadway, Paterson, NJ 07522.
Harry Dougherty comes from a long line of hardy Scots-Irishmen that settled in the area of New Jersey, just south of Greenwood Lake. His grandfather, William Henry Dougherty, was born in 1869 in the small rural village of Boardville, NJ. Long forgotten now, the remains of Boardville rest peacefully on the bottom of the Wanaque Reservoir.
After William Henry secured work with Sterling Mountain Railroad, he moved the Dougherty clan to Southfields, NY, which not only was on the Erie’s mainline, but the home town of his soon to be wife, Mary Ellen Van Tassell. After a fatal accident on the job, William Henry’s widow and children moved to Paterson, NJ where Harry was born to William Henry’s son, Charles Dougherty and his wife, Mary Masker Dougherty.
Just prior to the Depression, when he was around 5 or 6, Dad’s parents moved the family to the Mountain View area, where dad spent most of his formative years. Having left school after the 5th grade to help support the family, dad went to work as a hired hand at a horse stable facility located where the Willowbrook Mall now stands. Before too long, dad was working many odd jobs learning carpentry and building skills that would become invaluable in his adult life.
At the age of 18, when WWII broke out, he joined the Army and spent several years serving his country, boots on the ground, in North Africa, Sicily, and Italy where he was wounded by shrapnel and lost all of his teeth. He never said much about the war until only a few years ago when little bits and pieces would occasionally surface.
After the war, when dad married mom (Eileen Mary O’Sullivan), they saved up enough money to buy the lot where his house sits now in the old original section of town known as “Wayne Station.” By now, dad was working as a green sand moulder at North Jersey Foundry in Singac, and their first child, Mary Veronica was born. It was time to start building their very own home. Dad was an accomplished carpenter, mason, plumber and electrician. There was not much about building that he didn’t know. With the help of friends, neighbors and family, they finished the house and had their second child, William Harold.
He was a dedicated fisherman, sneaking off to his favorite hole as often as he could. Many a morning before showing up for work in Singac at 6:30 a.m., he would have already spent a couple of hours fishing in some quiet backwoods pond. Sometime around 1958, dad and his 2 buddies, Herby and Richie Brown, drove from Wayne to Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario with dad’s 8 foot wooden pram strapped to the top of his Buick. When they finally ran out of road, they hitched a ride, boat and all, on a Canadian National freight train and disappeared into the north woods for some adventure fishing in Canada. Fortunately for us at home, they surfaced a couple of weeks later, all three sporting beards and stories that would keep us entertained for years.
He was no amateur when it came to gardening either. Dad was practicing organic gardening more than 50 years ago, even though he was unfamiliar with the term. At the time, he just knew what worked best to grow a bounty of produce from the backyard. And as fast as his garden produced, mom was busy canning and preserving what fruits and vegetables weren’t consumed.
Harry Dougherty worked hard but also knew how to relax and have fun, hosting many a crab boil, lobster fest or backyard hamburger cook-out. He and mom put on many holiday dinners for family and friends, often in excess of 20 people, all crowding into their modest kitchen and dining room. If anyone showed up unexpectedly, dad made sure there was room at the dinner table and that no one went away hungry.
Never having received much of an education himself, dad stressed to us kids the importance of higher learning, so that we could enjoy opportunities that weren’t available to him. Needless to say, he was very proud that both of his children were college graduates.
After mom passed away seven years ago, just months shy of their 60th wedding anniversary; he was determined to remain independent. He continued to drive and live alone in his home. He learned to cook, clean, and care for himself until he was hospitalized in November. He enjoyed frequent visits from his children and grandchildren as well as traveling to Wisconsin and Florida to visit his daughter and her family on numerous occasions.
Harry Dougherty was a member of a unique generation of Americans. Some call it the “Greatest Generation.” They worked hard and played hard and “got things done.” He built his own house and provided much of his own food. It wasn’t that remarkable to him. It was just making the most out of what you had.
He will be missed by all who knew him. But lucky for his grandkids and their grandkids, he left the greatest legacy of all: an outstanding illustration of a life well lived.
If you would like to send a private condolence directly to the family use this condolence section.
Friends may visit with the family at the Vander May Wayne Colonial Funeral Home, 567 Ratzer Road, Wayne, on Sunday, March 23, 2014 from 4-7 PM. Funeral Services will be held at 10 AM on Monday, March 24, 2014 at the funeral home, followed by burial at the 1st Reformed Church Cemetery, Pompton Plains.
Friends wishing to honor Harry with a memorial donation are asked to consider the Salvation Army, 545 W. Broadway, Paterson, NJ 07522.
March 20, 2014
Services
Friends may visit with the family at the Vander May Wayne Colonial Funeral Home, 567 Ratzer Road, Wayne, on Sunday, March 23, 2014 from 4-7 PM. Funeral Services will be held at 10 AM on Monday, March 24, 2014 at the funeral home, followed by burial at the 1st Reformed Church Cemetery, Pompton Plains.
Friends wishing to honor Harry with a memorial donation are asked to consider the Salvation Army, 545 W. Broadway, Paterson, NJ 07522.
Harry Dougherty comes from a long line of hardy Scots-Irishmen that settled in the area of New Jersey, just south of Greenwood Lake. His grandfather, William Henry Dougherty, was born in 1869 in the small rural village of Boardville, NJ. Long forgotten now, the remains of Boardville rest peacefully on the bottom of the Wanaque Reservoir.
After William Henry secured work with Sterling Mountain Railroad, he moved the Dougherty clan to Southfields, NY, which not only was on the Erie’s mainline, but the home town of his soon to be wife, Mary Ellen Van Tassell. After a fatal accident on the job, William Henry’s widow and children moved to Paterson, NJ where Harry was born to William Henry’s son, Charles Dougherty and his wife, Mary Masker Dougherty.
Just prior to the Depression, when he was around 5 or 6, Dad’s parents moved the family to the Mountain View area, where dad spent most of his formative years. Having left school after the 5th grade to help support the family, dad went to work as a hired hand at a horse stable facility located where the Willowbrook Mall now stands. Before too long, dad was working many odd jobs learning carpentry and building skills that would become invaluable in his adult life.
At the age of 18, when WWII broke out, he joined the Army and spent several years serving his country, boots on the ground, in North Africa, Sicily, and Italy where he was wounded by shrapnel and lost all of his teeth. He never said much about the war until only a few years ago when little bits and pieces would occasionally surface.
After the war, when dad married mom (Eileen Mary O’Sullivan), they saved up enough money to buy the lot where his house sits now in the old original section of town known as “Wayne Station.” By now, dad was working as a green sand moulder at North Jersey Foundry in Singac, and their first child, Mary Veronica was born. It was time to start building their very own home. Dad was an accomplished carpenter, mason, plumber and electrician. There was not much about building that he didn’t know. With the help of friends, neighbors and family, they finished the house and had their second child, William Harold.
He was a dedicated fisherman, sneaking off to his favorite hole as often as he could. Many a morning before showing up for work in Singac at 6:30 a.m., he would have already spent a couple of hours fishing in some quiet backwoods pond. Sometime around 1958, dad and his 2 buddies, Herby and Richie Brown, drove from Wayne to Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario with dad’s 8 foot wooden pram strapped to the top of his Buick. When they finally ran out of road, they hitched a ride, boat and all, on a Canadian National freight train and disappeared into the north woods for some adventure fishing in Canada. Fortunately for us at home, they surfaced a couple of weeks later, all three sporting beards and stories that would keep us entertained for years.
He was no amateur when it came to gardening either. Dad was practicing organic gardening more than 50 years ago, even though he was unfamiliar with the term. At the time, he just knew what worked best to grow a bounty of produce from the backyard. And as fast as his garden produced, mom was busy canning and preserving what fruits and vegetables weren’t consumed.
Harry Dougherty worked hard but also knew how to relax and have fun, hosting many a crab boil, lobster fest or backyard hamburger cook-out. He and mom put on many holiday dinners for family and friends, often in excess of 20 people, all crowding into their modest kitchen and dining room. If anyone showed up unexpectedly, dad made sure there was room at the dinner table and that no one went away hungry.
Never having received much of an education himself, dad stressed to us kids the importance of higher learning, so that we could enjoy opportunities that weren’t available to him. Needless to say, he was very proud that both of his children were college graduates.
After mom passed away seven years ago, just months shy of their 60th wedding anniversary; he was determined to remain independent. He continued to drive and live alone in his home. He learned to cook, clean, and care for himself until he was hospitalized in November. He enjoyed frequent visits from his children and grandchildren as well as traveling to Wisconsin and Florida to visit his daughter and her family on numerous occasions.
Harry Dougherty was a member of a unique generation of Americans. Some call it the “Greatest Generation.” They worked hard and played hard and “got things done.” He built his own house and provided much of his own food. It wasn’t that remarkable to him. It was just making the most out of what you had.
He will be missed by all who knew him. But lucky for his grandkids and their grandkids, he left the greatest legacy of all: an outstanding illustration of a life well lived.
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