Robert Thomas "Bob" Doran Sr.

Robert Thomas "Bob" Doran Sr., 94, passed away peacefully on May 16, 2014.
Visitation will be on Monday, May 19, 2014, at the Doyle Funeral Home, Maple Ave., Morristown, N.J., from 4 to 8 p.m. A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at the Assumption Church, Maple Avenue, Morristown, on Tuesday, May 20, 2014, at 10 a.m. Entombment is at Holy Rood Cemetery Mausoleum immediately following the funeral.
Bob was a lifetime resident of Morristown and Morris Township, graduating from Bayley High School in 1937.
Bob (one of the 40 "Dublin Boys" of Morristown) enlisted in the U.S. Navy in February 1942. He served on the battleship USS Massachusetts for three years as a petty officer 2nd Class and, as a member of the first crew, was designated as an "honorary plank owner." He participated in 35 major engagements during World War II in both the Atlantic and the Pacific. He was awarded the Good Conduct Medal and was honorably discharged in December 1945.
After his discharge, Bob was employed by N.J. Bell Telephone Co. for 36 years, retiring in 1981.
Bob was most recently a parishioner of Assumption Church (where he was married in 1949), and was previously a member of St. Virgil's Parish for 46 years.
He was an active member of the USS Massachusetts World War II Battleship Memorial Association. He was also a member of the VFW No. 3401, American Legion Post 59, the Morris Township Senior Citizens Club, St. Margaret's Social Club, the Friendly Sons of St. Patrick, and the Irish American Association of N.J.
Bob is survived by his wife of 65 years, Catherine "Pat" Beston Doran; his daughters, Patricia Wong and her husband, Sam, of Belmont, Mass., Kathleen Bellias and her husband, James, of Morris Plains, N.J., and his son, Robert Jr. and his wife, Patrice, of Byram Township, N.J.
He is also survived by his grandchildren, Mark Bellias and his wife, Courtney, of Lafayette, Calif.; Laura (Bellias) Yurek and her husband, Matthew, of Morris Plains, N.J.; Jeffrey Bellias and his wife, Norma, of Bloomingdale, N.J., and Patrick Doran and Sean Doran of Byram Township, N.J.
Bob also leaves behind six great-grandchildren, Benjamin, Anna Grace and Nicholas Yurek of Morris Plains, N.J., and Griffin, Shepard and Malcolm Bellias of Lafayette, Calif. He is also survived by his sister-in-law, Barbara Doran, and numerous nieces and nephews.
Bob was predeceased by his brothers, Francis and Richard, and his sister, Dorothy.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests that a donation be made to the Morris Minute Men, 97 Mill Road, Morris Plains, N.J. 07950.