J. Willard Doran

Doran, J. Willard TROY J. Willard Doran, 80, of Highpointe, died peacefully Wednesday, August 31, 2011 at home with his family at his side. Born in Troy on October 12, 1930, he was the son of the late D. Gilbert and Lillian Culkin Doran. A graduate of LaSalle Institute, Manhattan College and SUNY Albany, Willard was a US Army veteran and played with the 1st Army basketball team at Ft. Dix, N.J. Will began his career as a teacher in the Lansingburgh School District. For 13 years he was the principal of Knickerbacker Junior High School and was so proud of his former students from the "Burgh". In 1995 he retired from Hudson Valley Community College after 14 years as director of student development. He also served as a Rensselaer County Legislator for 16 years. An active member of the community, Will served on the board of directors for the Lansingburgh Boys and Girls Club and the Knickerbacker Playground. He is a former member of the board of directors of LaSalle Institute, former member and past president of the Rotary Club of Lansingburgh and past president of the County Legislators and Supervisors Association of New York State. He is the 1997 recipient of the Frank W. Kennedy Memorial Award from the Lansingburgh Boys & Girls Club, the Troy Police PBA Gold Shield Award and the DeWitt Clinton Masonic Award Jerusalem Lodge #55, all for community service. Will is also a well-known area athlete and football and basketball official. While at LaSalle, he was the captain of the football, baseball and basketball teams. He was the captain of the 1953-54 Manhattan College basketball team, a member of the Troy All-City All Time Basketball Team and a member of Ken Norton's All Time Manhattan Basketball team. He also played professional basketball with the Wilkes Barre, PA Barons and the Lancaster, PA Red Rosas. He is a member of the Capital District Football Officials Association and a former member of the Adirondack District Chapter of the International Association of approved Basketball Officials Board #36. In 2010, he was elected into the inaugural class of the Section II Football Hall of Fame along with his dear friend and officiating partner, the late Dom Denio. He is a member of the Emerald Club Athletic Hall of Fame and the Friends of 112th Street Hall of Fame. For the past 19 years, Will along with his wife Joan has wintered in Naples, Fla. where he has met dear friends from all across the country especially the Brinkmans of Nevada, Iowa. He was a spring training season ticket holder for the Minnesota Twins and was a diehard New York Yankees fan. He is the beloved husband of Joan Smith Doran whom he adored; devoted father of Daniel J. Doran of Troy, Nancy Doran-Hite and her husband Charles A. Hite of Delmar and Kathleen M. Congero and her husband William J. Congero of Bloomfield, Conn.; loving grandfather of Spencer William Congero, Daniel Patrick Doran and Elizabeth Joan Hite; brother of the late Margaret D. Downey and J. Gilbert Doran. Also survived by several nephews. Will's funeral Mass will be celebrated on Saturday at 11:15 a.m. at Our Lady of Victory Church in Troy. Relatives and friends are invited and may also call at the Doran Funeral Home, 9 South Lake Avenue, Troy on Friday from 3-7 p.m. Interment will follow in St. Peter's Cemetery, Troy. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to the Lansingburgh Boys & Girls Club, 505 4th Avenue, North Troy, NY 12182 or to LaSalle Institute, 174 Williams Road, Troy, NY 12180. The family would like to give special thanks to the Troy Fire Department paramedics and to Community Hospice of Rensselaer for the wonderful care given to Willard.