Nora Dougherty

Nora Anne Dougherty

Nora Anne Dougherty, beloved mother, sister and aunt died on January 26, 2022 in San Francisco. Norawas born in Brooklyn, New York on February 27, 1950 to Susan and Daniel Dougherty. She lived in NewnYork, Las Vegas and San Francisco.
Nora was a devoted mother to her daughter, Melissa, and always encouraged Melissa to follow her dreams and cultivate her talents. She was immensely proud of her daughter's accomplishments as a musician. She was a loving sister, spending many hours on the phone talking to her sisters. As a young woman Nora always made sure that her sisters and brothers were included in her activities and showed them many places in New York, where she grew up, like Radio City Music Hall, the Alvin Ailey Dance Theater and Broadway shows. She was an avid music lover - she loved Pavarotti, Queen, Montserrat Caballé, Roberta Flack, Victor Jara, Nina Simone. She even took her younger brother Daniel to the Woodstock Music and Art Fair in 1969.
She was a fun and joyful person who loved life. She loved walking above the Sutro Baths with her daughter and driving down the coast to see the Mavericks after a strong winter storm. She loved to sing, write poetry and recently took up learning the guitar and studying Spanish. She also started to knit hats for babies with her sister Susan. She had no fear of getting out there and shining. If you were performing on the subway Nora could jump right in and enhance the show. She was friendly, warm and always helped people feel comfortable and welcome. She was an avid animal lover and had many beloved pets throughout her life, including Nikki, Charlie, Toby, Freddie, Sasha, Amelia and Obie, a Chukar bird, who was surely destined for someone's dinner plate when it was found wandering around the Sunset District in San Francisco. Nora nurtured that bird for many years and gave it a good life.
Nora was authentic, passionate and fearlessly dedicated to the Right to Life movement. She supported and helped women in need and provided for their children throughout their pregnancy, after the birth of the child and beyond, remaining friends with many until her untimely death. To quote her dear friend Claudia Catani whom she started Lights for Life with in Las Vegas - "if the Pro-Life movement had an elite special forces like the Green Beret or Navy Seals, Nora would be wearing a badge of honor and the Purple Heart." Nora started the Desert Angel Fund in Las Vegas and collected baby items from many churches and private donors, providing direct support to women in need. She also volunteered at the Crisis Pregnancy Center and her compassion, commitment and love for babies and their mothers had no boundaries.
Before retiring a few years ago she worked at the San Francisco International Airport and had many friends there in addition to volunteering at her sister Susan's elementary school from time to time helping out with school plays and musicals.
Nora is survived by her daughter, Melissa, her brothers, William, Daniel and Patrick, her sisters, Susan, Elizabeth, her sisters in-law Patricia, Mary, Pauline, Ann, and her brothers in-law Larry and Marinos. Her parents and oldest brother, Dennis, predeceased her.
In lieu of flowers, the family prefers donations to be made in Nora Dougherty's honor to Alpha Pregnancy Center, 5070 Mission Street, San Francisco, CA, 94112 (415) 584-6800 or through www.alphapc.org