William Joseph Dooley

Dr. William Joseph Dooley Jr. passed away on August 29th due to complications from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (also known as ALS or Lou Gehrig's disease). He was surrounded by family and friends at home in Flagstaff, Arizona as he began his walk with God.

Bill was born in West Bend, Wisconsin on November 10, 1942. He attended Campion High School in Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin, College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Massachusetts and Marquette School of Medicine in Milwaukee. He served in the Navy from 1969-1975 as a Lieutenant Commander where he completed his residency in ophthalmology.

While in medical school he met Kathy, the love of his life, to whom he was married for more than 52 years. In 1975 they moved to Lake Havasu City, Arizona to open their ophthalmology practice, and later built a state-of-the-art outpatient surgery center. He enjoyed serving Lake Havasu and the surrounding communities as one of the few eye surgeons and eye disease specialists in the area for more than 25 years. Seeing the opportunity to continue to serve his community outside of his medical practice, he served on the board of directors for Mohave State Bank (now Glacier Bancorp).

Bill was an amazing husband and father expressing his love for his family through travel and adventure. Travel meant waterskiing on the Colorado River; boating on Lake Powell; RV camping near Zion National Monument; riding quads on the Glamis sand dunes; exploring Organ Pipe National Monument; snow skiing in Park City; pop-up trailer camping (in January) in Death Valley. In the last 10 years Bill and Kathy enjoyed traveling in their RV or 5th wheel around the country visiting friends and family and golfing along the way. Bill made sure his family played golf as it was his favorite competitive sport and everyone should be ready for some friendly advice.

There were no barriers in Bill's mind for the family to explore together, which led to him earning his pilot's license so the family could travel to the Midwest and Northeastern states to better understand our countries' history. He also inspired his children through acts of service and philanthropy by providing free corrective eye surgery for those in need in the 1980's and leading the campaign to rebuild Our Lady of the Lake Catholic Church in the 1990's in Lake Havasu City. Bill was active at San Francisco de Asis parish through the Knights of Columbus and the choir. In more recent years, woodturning became a new hobby. To master the necessary skills, and to help others, he became a founding member of the Peaks Woodturners.

William is survived by Kathleen (Kaddatz) Dooley, and children Kevin Dooley (Heather), Kimberly LaFavers (Rick), Patricia von Kolen (Bill) and 13 grandchildren: Brandon Corke and Andrew Corke, Tabitha, Ellie, April, Ben, Jocelyn, Daniel von Kolen; Austin, Coleson, Ryan, Tyler LaFavers; Siana Dooley. He is survived by his siblings Michael and Thomas Dooley, Mary Newcomb and Patricia Eid.

Services will be held at San Francisco de Asis Catholic Parish on Monday, September 26th. Rosary at 10 AM and Mass at 10:30 AM. The church is located at 1600 Historic Rte. 66, Flagstaff, AZ 86001. A reception will follow at Forest Highlands Golf Club, Flagstaff, Arizona.

Memorial donations may be made to: San Francisco de Asis Catholic Parish school fund (www.sfdaparish.org). 1600 E. Rte 66, Flagstaff, AZ 86001. ALS Arizona Chapter (www.alsaz.org). 360 E. Coronado Road, Suite 140 Phoenix, AZ 85004.

To live stream: https://sfdaparish.org Select "Watch Mass Online"

Visit www.norvelowensmortuary.com for information.