Novelle Doherty

Novelle Barry Doherty, was born in a U.S. Navy Hospital on October 21, 1945. Her father George J. Barry was a World War Two Navy veteran. After the War, he spent his civilian career in the oil industry in California. Novelle's mother Eugenia Fale Barry was a Registered Nurse. Novelle grew up in Long Beach, California, but every summer she and her mother would travel to Sheboygan, Wisconsin to be with relatives and friends. They stayed with Novelle's aunt and uncle, Eunice and Henry Fale, and also with Novelle's grandfather and grandmother, Frank and Mary Fale.
Novelle graduated from Milliken High School in Long Beach and then went on to major in American History at the University of California at Berkeley, graduating in 1967. While there, she affiliated with the Zeta Tau Alpha Sorority. She met her future husband Daniel Doherty ("Danny") at a social function at the U.S. Naval Base Officers' Club in Long Beach. They were married in 1971 and moved to Austin, Texas, then to Houston, Texas, where they spent the rest of their married life.
Novelle was involved in many different organizations. She was a proud leader of the Brownies and Girl Scouts. For ten years, she was an active member of the Board of Directors of the League of Women Voters. She sang in the Houston Masterworks Chorus for ten years and the Houston Tuesday Musical Club for fifteen years. She also sang for twenty-five years in the church choir at St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Church. Beyond that, Novelle especially enjoyed playing cards with her dear friends in weekly bridge groups.
Novelle left us on Friday, September 20. She was preceded in death by her precious daughter, Amy Elizabeth Doherty, who died of a cerebral hemorrhage in 2005. Novelle will be buried next to her dear Amy. Novelle is survived by her wonderful granddaughter, Amanda Renee Parker, and by her loving husband Danny. Amanda and Danny will receive friends on Saturday, September 28, at 12:30pm at St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Church, 12627 West Belfort Ave. in Sugar Land, Texas. The funeral mass will be held on Saturday, September 28, at 2:00pm at the same location.
Except for a short four-day stay at home, Novelle was undergoing treatment for two months at different hospitals, for several serious medical conditions. One doctor told Novelle and Danny that she was enduring her illness with more grace than any patient he had ever had. During those final two months, Novelle's husband, who stayed with her in the hospital night and day, told her, over and over, how wonderful she was, how she was the Joy of his Life, and how much he thanked God for giving him his darling "Novy". There were a few occasions during that long hospitalization when both Novelle and Danny thought that she might not survive. On one such evening, Novelle related to Danny the ideas and words she would like expressed in her obituary. This obituary, then, is almost word-for-word what Novelle wanted her friends and loved ones to read. At her request, this obituary is appearing in the daily newspapers in Houston, Texas, in Long Beach, California, and in Sheboygan, Wisconsin, so that all her relatives and friends will know that Novelle has gone to Heaven and that she sends them her undying Love.