John Timothy Doherty, father of ten, friend to many, unionist, diplomat, champion of justice

John Doherty died peacefully at home in the early morning of December 22, 2011, with his wife and dearest friend, Ethel Dunbar Doherty at his side.

Born in Covington, Kentucky June 6, 1928, Doherty was the second of William and Gertrude Dacey Doherty’s nine children. From an early age he lived according to the values he attributed to his mother’s loving teachings. He moved with his family to Washington as a young teen when his father was elected president of the National Association of Letter Carriers. John enlisted in the Navy on his 17th birthday, near the end of World War II. After a year of active duty he came home and finished two years of high school in one. He briefly attended Catholic University and while he didn’t earn a college degree, he was a self-educated man and a lifelong learner. He loved reading history, the biographies of world leaders and his own heroes, and political and economic analysis. He had a way of connecting to people with great minds and entering into rich discussion with them. He had a remarkable breadth and depth of knowledge.

He fell in love with Ethel, the girl across the street. His high school sweetheart, she was to become his one true love, wife, best friend, mother of their 10 children, and for sixty three years his partner in a lifelong struggle for social justice. They married in 1949. In 1953 they moved to Annapolis where he joined the staff of the International Labor Center at St. Johns College. During his years at the Center over 7,000 foreign visitors participated in the program.

Shocked by the bigotry and racism they witnessed in Annapolis, John and Ethel became involved in the civil rights movement. Following a cross burning on the lawn of a black doctor whose little girl was to enter first grade in a previously all white school, a county commissioner made the statement, “Blood will run in the streets.” Her willful incitement of violence led to John’s demand for her resignation which made the front page of the local paper, resulting in ugly threats, and fear for the safety of the Doherty children.

It was the beginning of a lifetime of activism that helped to create positive change in our world. As a result of his tireless efforts, he received the Coalition for Racial Unity’s Peace and Justice Award, a Winchester-Frederick/Clarke County NAACP award for commitment to social change in the community, the Diocese of Arlington’s Msgr. Geno Baroni Award for Social Justice for his work with Catholic Charities in Arlington and Winchester, a Shenandoah University appreciation for volunteer work in the community, and the 2011 Walking King’s Talk Award from Lord Fairfax Community College.

John left his position as director of the International Labor Center at St. Johns to become a Latin America area labor advisor at the Department of Labor. In the mid-sixties he joined the Foreign Service, serving as Labor Attache and Political Officer in US embassies in Mexico, Peru, Argentina and Portugal and at the U.S. Mission to the European Economic Community in Brussels. He received a Department of State Meritorious Honor Award in 1971 for “consistently superior performance as Labor Attaché in Buenos Aires, Argentina, in the preparation of sound, concise, penetrating reports on the Argentine labor movement, and for outstanding efforts in developing closer ties and understanding between Argentine and American labor.”

After retiring from the Foreign Service, he continued to work for the State Department. He was fascinated by the time he spent in classification/declassification, writing country background papers and declassification guidelines for Latin American countries and advising the National Archives on declassification of foreign relations records from the 1950s. According to colleagues, his humor and wit brightened every place he worked, but never detracted from the seriousness, thoughtfulness or quality of his work.

From the early days in the Interracial Committee for Annapolis and Anne Arundel County to the time of his death, John was a leader, volunteer and active member of organizations dedicated to social justice. He and Ethel moved to Winchester, Virginia in 1979, where he served in various capacities at the Shenandoah Peace Coalition, Caretakers (now the Boys and Girls Club), Catholic Charities, Citizens for a Quality Community, the Coalition for Racial Unity, the NAACP and the Valley Interfaith Council.

A great teller of stories and jokes that improved with each telling, John was an actor in more than 20 plays at the Winchester Little Theatre, a Torch Club member and recipient of the Silver Torch Award. A fun and active social life included many groupings of his dearest friends, including his poker buddies (sometimes referred to as his men’s prayer group), his Monday morning talk group (also known as the Wednesday afternoon philosophical society), and the Tuesday Royal Lunch group. With Ethel, he enjoyed the company of longtime friends for a weekly dinner. An avid sports fan, John loved his Georgetown basketball and Washington Nationals baseball teams. Days before he died, in the company of his grandchildren, he witnessed a near miracle in the Redskins victory over the NY Giants.

He leaves behind a large contingent of adoring fans, including ten children and their partners – Mimi Fox (Richard), Patricia Tuccio, Kate Doherty, Jack Doherty, (Judy), Kevin Doherty (Monica Hoffman), Mick Doherty (Deb Chase), Theresa West (Mark), Julia Doherty (Tony Carita), Brigid Doherty, Larry Doherty, their children and grandchildren, his brother, James F. Doherty, and sisters, Catherine Stewart, Gertrude Patricia Boswell, Margaret Rieger (Earl), sisters-in-law, nieces and nephews and innumerable friends and admirers – all a testament to a life well lived.

Family and friends will gather at Omps Funeral Home, 1600 Amherst St., Winchester, VA 22601 on Monday, December 26, 2011 from 2:00 to 4:00 and 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. A celebration of John’s life will take place at the Stephens City United Methodist Church, 5291 Main St, Stephens City, VA 22655 at 11:00 a.m. on Tuesday December 27. Those who wish to make memorial contributions in John’s name may consider Blue Ridge Hospice, the Coalition for Racial Unity, both of Winchester, VA or the Unitarian Universalist Church of the Shenandoah Valley in Stephens City, VA.