Obituary of Ronald E. Dougherty

Ronald E Dougherty, age 89, died peacefully on Tuesday, November 23, 2021 with his wife of 71 years, Brenda (Drury) Dougherty, at his side. Ron was born in Candor, NY, in 1932, the beloved son of Isabell Kotula. He graduated class Salutatorian in the 1950 Candor High School graduating class and married his high school sweetheart, Brenda Drury, on December 5th of that same year in the Little Church around the Corner in New York City. Ron and Brenda are the parents of 11 children. Along with his wife, Brenda, Ron is also survived by his children: Mary Wolski and her husband Al of Ocean Pines; Patrick Dougherty and his wife Cindy of Carlisle, PA; Colleen Anderson and her husband Roger of Smithfield RI; Daniel Dougherty and his wife Laura of Sayre, PA; John Dougherty and his wife Cathy of NYC; Brian Dougherty and his wife Sally of Charleston SC; Rhonda Christie and her husband Dan of Addison, TX; Lisa Barber and her husband Brian of Spencer, NY; Terrance Dougherty and his wife Mary of Shavertown, PA; and Kevin Dougherty and his wife Michelle of Waverly, NY. Ron is also survived by 29 grandchildren and 23 great-grandchildren and by his sister, Gail Barton and her husband Doug of Owego, NY and his brothers James Kotula and his wife Winanne of Attica, NY, and Steven Kotula and his wife Heather of Richford, NY. He is predeceased by his son Ronald E Dougherty, Jr and his great-grandson, Odin Dougherty. Ron also leaves behind his dear and lifelong friends, Dave and Doug Fesseden, with whom he shared many joyful memories. Ron had a firm belief that a person should leave their world better than they found it, and he used his talents to make Tioga County a better place to live in and raise a family. He left his family farm and joined IBM in 1957. He retired in 1987 after a successful career as a functional level manager. In May 1988, he joined the Tioga County Legislature and became Tioga County Legislative Chairman in 1990, retiring in 1995. He worked for the Tioga County Industrial Development Association (IDA) on the Lounsberry Development Site and lead in establishing the Best Buy Warehouse Building and the Initial Anchor Terminal in Lounsberry. He was the initial President of the Rural Economics Area Partnership (REAP), and the Tioga County Council of Local Governments. Ron and his partner, Steve Hendrickson, were involved, along with others, in the Owego Pool Project and in establishing the Municipal Electric and Gas Alliance. (MEGA). While Chairman of the Legislature, with the help of the late Glen Carter, he helped establish the Council of Economic Development and Planning. Ron was also on the Tioga County Soil and Water and Farm Bureau Board of Directors, the Tioga County Bank Board, and the Board of Sayre Guthrie Clinic. He was Past Chairman of the Tioga County Republican Party and a member of the Owego Kiwanis and Elks. On September 2014, to honor Ron's many contributions to Tioga County, the Tioga County Legislature renamed the municipal building on 56 Main St, Owego, the Ronald E Dougherty Building. Ron was a School Board member for 41 years, joining the Tioga Central School Board in 1966 and being elected President of the Board in 1968 and leading in this position during the 1972 construction of the current Tioga Central High School. He left the Tioga Central School Board in 1977 and then joined the Broom Tioga BOCES Board of Education where he served as President from 1985-2005, including being named NY State School Board Member of the Year in 1995. To honor Ron's exemplary service, BOCES created the annual Ron Dougherty award. This award is given to an employee who best exemplifies the spirit and dedication that were the hallmarks of Mr. Dougherty's many years of service to our schools and our community. Some of the other recognitions and honors awarded to Ron Dougherty include, among others, the following: BOCES 2006 President Recognition Award, Boy Scouts of America (BSA) Outstanding Citizen for 1997, Candor Bicentennial Recognition, Congressional Recognition Award 2000, IBM 25 Year Service Award, Jim Bostwick Agricultural Award, Mario Cuomo 1992 Law, NYS Rural Schools Anne Paulin Distinguished Service Award 2006, Ronald Dougherty Day Proclamation by Mayor Fink 2000, Rotary Paul Harris Award 1998, TC3 Friends of the College Award and Plaque 2004, Tioga County Republican Committee Lifetime Achievement Award 2003, Tioga County Rural Ministry Award Plaque 2001, Tioga County Senior Citizen of the Year Plaque 2000. Ron's greatest joys were making happy memories with family and friends, walking on his land that he so loved, watching his children and grandchildren at their sporting events, and hunting and spending time with friends at the cabin, and later in life, with his friends at the squirrel club. He credited his wife, Brenda, with giving him the ability to do for his community the acts of service he was so gifted to do. Ron was born, baptized, and raised in the Baptist Church, in adulthood raised ten children with his wife Brenda in the Roman Catholic Church, and was officially welcomed into the Catholic church by way of the RCIA program in 2002. At the time of his death Ron was a parishioner at St Patrick's church in Owego. He loved deeply and was deeply loved in return by his wife, his family and his many friends. Dad, we will always be proud to say Ron Dougherty was our dad. To us, you were and always will be Top Shelf. A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated on Tuesday, November 30, 2021 at 10:00 a.m. at St. Patrick's Church, 300 Main St., Owego, NY. Burial will follow in the Maple Grove Cemetery, Candor, NY. The family will receive friends Monday, November 29th from 4:00 to 8:00 p.m. at the First Church of the Nazarene – Gymnasium, 3732 Waverly Road, Owego, NY. The family is being assisted by the Estey, Munroe & Fahey Funeral Home. In lieu of flowers, donations in Ron's name can be made to Tioga County Rural Ministries online at tcrm.org or at 143 North Avenue, Owego, NY 13827. Our family would like to thank Kim Evanoski and the staff of Care Management for All, LLC for the tremendous care and love they showed our father while attending to his needs during his illness. Condolences may be made to Ron's family at www.emfaheyfuneralhome.com.