Dougherty, James Joseph
James Joseph Dougherty passed away on July 8, 2010, at Fairbanks Memorial Hospital.
Jim was born in Philadelphia on May 19, 1922, to John and Laura McKee Dougherty. He and his siblings attended Holy Saviour School and Haddonfield High School in New Jersey, where he met his only love, Rita Smart, in chemistry class.
When World War II began, Jim and two brothers enlisted: Jim in the Marine Air Corps where he served in Zambouanga and Leyte in the Philippines.
After the war, Jim and Rita married in Haddonfield on Aug. 20, 1945, and soon after journeyed to Alaska where Rita taught in Nenana and Fairbanks and Jim attended the University of Alaska Fairbanks and worked construction in the summers, graduating in 1957. Jim built our first home - a log cabin on Noyes Slough in Lemeta and there raised our family of a daughter and four sons.
Opportunity took the family to Oklahoma City in 1958 to the FAA Center, then a memorable five years in Managua, Nicaragua and Central America. The FAA sent the family back to Alaska with Jim as an assistant supervisor during the trans- Alaska oil pipeline days. Jim retired in 1978 and made Alaska our permanent home. Retirement years have been filled with extensive travel, taking us around the world three times on 40 cruises and many land tours on every continent.
Jim is survived by his wife of almost 65 years, Rita; and his five children: Suzanne Simmons, William Gary Dougherty, James Bruce Dougherty, Douglas Dale Dougherty and John Ricky Dougherty and his wife, Leasa. Other survivors include grandson, Brett Dougherty; granddaughters, Jacklyn Matthews and Jenni Boydstun; and several great-grandsons. Jim's sister and brother-in-law, Patricia and Burl Fisher reside in Texas and sister-in-law, Marian Dougherty, lives in Virginia. Jim had many helpful and supportive friends as well, including Bud Simmons and Marlin Collins.
A memorial service was held on Tuesday, July 13, at Immaculate Conception Church.
Arrangements were entrusted to Chapel of Chimes Funeral Home.
Published in Daily News-Miner on July 14, 2010