Saturday, September 26, 2020
Obituary from the family:
George Dougherty passed away on Wednesday, September 16, 2020, at the St. Peter Hospital ER. His wife, Rosemarie Dougherty, was able to be with him and hold his hand, in a private ER room, until the end around 3pm. He was on pain meds, so it was very peaceful. He is survived by his wife; his children, Diane (DeeDee) Robbins and George Patrick Dougherty; and his granddaughter, Hilary Robbins; as well as two sisters: Mary Lou Paulk and Sister Cecelia Dougherty. He was preceded in death by his parents and three brothers: James, Fred and Charles.
George was born in Pittsburg, PA, to Francis and Kathryn (Kipper) Dougherty on Aug 20, 1938, and he grew up in Torrance, CA. George joined the Army shortly after graduating from high school, and he was in the service until his retirement in 1977, shortly after the family moved to Lacey, WA. In 1963, during his second tour in Germany, he met and married Rosemarie (Graf). They just celebrated their 56th wedding anniversary in June. During their marriage, they lived in Germany (where DeeDee was born), Alabama (where George Patrick was born), Georgia, California, Texas, Germany (where he participated in community theatre), Colorado (where he officially retired), and Washington. During 1968, George did a tour in Vietnam. Fortunately, he did not see any combat but, like so many others, the experience affected him more than he knew, at the time.
After retiring from the Army, he earned his BA in History from The Evergreen State College. He worked for Skippers, The Fireside Inn, and the Olympia Alano Club, where he was a friend to many. He was involved with, and devoted to, the Byzantine Catholic Church Mission and then the founding of St. George Byzantine Catholic Church on Yelm Highway. His faith was very important to him.
For most of his life, George loved history and reading books. He could be reading as many as five books, at one time. He especially loved Irish, Jewish, and WW2 history. He never had an official “man cave,� but he always had a library. When George Patrick moved out of the house, over 35 years ago, his old room became George's library, and it eventually included a TV and a computer (okay, it was just for playing games). He also loved Jazz, especially Dave Brubeck and Tony Bennett, both of whom he was fortunate and thrilled to see live in concert.
George's physical and mental health had been declining for a while, but up until his last day, he loved attending church, going to the casino, playing the Phase 10 card game with family and friends, and collecting and watching old movies on DVD.
We will keep him in our hearts always.
