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player ready...Paul L. Doherty used to complain about the huge amounts of mail he received.
His children thought he was exaggerating, his oldest son, Paul Doherty, said Monday. Then they started noticing in the mailbox, there were at least three to four inches of mail from various charities.
“He was giving to just an unbelievable amount of organizations, and he would keep it separated in piles of receipts and solicitations,” Paul Doherty said. “That’s just who he was.”
The outpouring of love and sympathy has been overwhelming for the Doherty family over the loss of their patriarch, Doherty said. Paul L. Doherty, 94 and of Highland, died Saturday at Community Hospital after a long illness.
Doherty said they knew the well wishes would be many. Still, the sheer volume of people who knew him is “pretty impressive.”
His credo, he said, was “Do something nice for someone every day.”
“It wasn’t phony, either,” Doherty said. “He started visiting people who were sick because they didn’t have anyone, and so he put them on a schedule. And when he was a running for office, he would attend funerals, and people thought he was just doing it for the votes. He’s been out of politics for many years now, and he still goes to funerals.
“That’s just a side of him that maybe people didn’t realize.”
Highland Clerk-Treasurer Michael Griffin said he laments that young people coming up in public service will never know the type of office run by Doherty, who served for 12 years as the town’s clerk-treasurer before Griffin assumed the office.
“He set a great foundation for me when I came on, but he was also great as a councilman,” Griffin said. “In fact, he was one of the members instrumental voting for the Parks and Recreation Board act of 1968 or ’69, and he was part of choosing the location of the main fire station and advancement of Main Square Park.”
A member of Our Lady of Grace Catholic Church, where he served as usher, hymn leader, and Eucharistic Minister, the elder Doherty served in the U.S. Army Air Corps in Bari, Italy during WWII. His first career was as District Manager for Illinois Bell Telephone for 35 years, then worked 12 years as the Vice President of Business Development for what’s now First Financial Bank.
His outside work with organizations, however, was legion. Among the organizations in which he was involved included, according to his obituary, the American Legion Post 16, VFW Post 1109, Chamber of Commerce in Highland, the Highland Fire Department as a volunteer fireman, Lake Area United Way Executive Board, Chairman Northwest Indiana Regional Planning Commission, State President of the Indiana League of Municipal Clerks and Treasurers, President Catholic Charities Board of Lake County, Chairman of the Divisional Board and Finance Committee of Our Lady of Mercy Hospital in Dyer, Board member of: Bishop Noll Institute Foundation, The Arc Northwest Indiana, Salvation Army, Respite Care Services, Greater Hammond Community Food Services plus many other charitable and civic organizations.
John Freyek, a vice president with First Merchants Bank, inducted Doherty to the Highland Chamber of Commerce as a lifetime member in 2009. He said Doherty will be remembered for his service.
“(Doherty performed) selfless service to his community until the day he died. He’s what I dream of being,” Freyek said.
Doherty is survived by his children: Paul (Kathleen) Doherty and Peter (Beverly) Doherty, of Schererville; Philip (Cynthia) Doherty of Elmhurst, Ill.; Beth (Richard) Courtright, of Highland; Jean (Brian) Rycerz, of Schererville; John (Janet) Doherty of Sugar Grove, Ill., and many grandchildren and great-grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his wife, Mary Elizabeth.
Visitation will be from noon to 8 p.m., with a prayer service at 4:30 pm, Thursday at Fagen-Miller Funeral Home, 8580 Wicker Ave., St. John. Family and friends will celebrate his life with a Funeral Mass at 11 a.m. Friday at Our Lady of Grace Catholic Church, 3025 Highway Ave., Highland. Visitation at the church will be from 9:30 to 11:00 a.m. Burial will follow immediately to Calumet Cemetery.
Michelle L. Quinn is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.