Submitted by: Dan Rich

Br. William J. Doherty CSC

May 23, 1914 - March 14, 2005

South Bend Tribune 3/16/2005                                       

Brother William Joseph Doherty, CSC, 90, died at Dujarie House, the Holy Cross Village at Notre Dame, Ind., on Monday, March 14, 2005, after a long illness. Born on May 23, 1914, in Clonmany, County Donegal, Ireland, he was the son of James and Mary Doherty. From 1921-1930, he attended Beltra Nat'l School and St. Patrick's School, both in County Donegal. From 1931 to 1937, he worked on his father's farm. Coming to the United States as World War II began in Europe, Br. William worked in maintenance for the Sisters of St. Dominic in Chicago from 1939-1940, then was a file clerk for American Railway Express from 1940­-1942. He entered the service in the Army in 1943, achieved the rank of technical sergeant, and was stationed in Hawaii, working at the 230th State Hospital before he was mustered out in June 1946.

By then in his mid-thirties, he felt called to the religious life, and in March 1950 he entered the candidacy program of the Holy Cross Brothers in Watertown, Wis. In August of that year he received the habit of the brothers and began his year of intense spiritual training at St. Joseph's Novitiate, Rolling Prairie, Ind. A year later, on August 16, 1951, he pronounced his first vows, and after another three years he made the vows permanent. Being twice the age of most of his fellow novices, he had to adapt to the inconveniences this difference fostered, as well as to the playful and sometimes juvenile behavior teenagers tend to slip into during breaks from a highly disciplined program of religious formation.

Immediately following his first profession of vows, Br. William began what was to become a 38-year assignment to the U.S. Post Office at Notre Dame. He retired in 1991 to a community house, Christopher Lodge in Cocoa Beach, Fla. He moved later in 1991 to the South-West Brothers' residence in Sherman Oaks, Calif., spending two years there in retirement before coming back to Notre Dame as a retiree at Columba Hall on the campus. He returned to the Sherman Oaks residence once more in 1994 and spent three years there. He did volunteer work at the St. Elizabeth Convalescent Center in Sherman Oaks. He returned permanently to Columba Hall in 1998, living there until in 2002 illness forced him to seek additional help at Dujarie House, the brothers' care facility at Notre Dame, where he resided until his death.

Br. William served loyally and conscientiously at the post office on the campus of Notre Dame. His ruddy, typical Irish complexion often wore a brilliant smile. He enjoyed a good joke, including occasional practical ones he was known to initiate. He kept in shape by riding his bicycle not only to work, but for exercise all over the campus and out on the city streets. He never lost his Irish brogue, if he ever intended to try. Fairly reserved and soft-spoken much of the time, he nevertheless enjoyed the varieties of recreational activities and celebrations that were part of living in the large and diverse community of brothers and guest religious and priests studying at the university. He created and observed a meticulous private routine within the established schedule of prayer, work, and leisure found in larger gatherings of religious under one roof. That combination carried over for Br. William into his work at the post office. He could be best-described as dedicated, loyal, companionable, helpful and reflective. One of his greatest gifts, however, was his exemplary witness to the entire Notre Dame community as he cheerfully provided the varied services the postal system could offer.

Visitation will begin at 2:30 p.m. on the feast of St. Patrick, Thursday, March 17, 2005, in St. Joseph's Chapel, the brothers' Holy Cross Village at Notre Dame, 54515 State Road 933. A Mass of Christian Burial will follow at 3:30 p.m., with interment immediately afterward at St. Joseph's Cemetery on the village grounds. Kaniewski Funeral Home is handling arrangements.