Virginia Carey Doherty

Virginia Carey Doherty

Stuart, FL - Virginia Carey Doherty, affectionately known as "Aunt Ginger" to many, beloved wife of Hugh Doherty, and a longtime resident of Spring Lake and Spring Lake Heights, and Stuart, Florida, passed away peacefully on Monday, March 15, 2021. She was 80 years old.

Born in Orange, N.J., and raised in the Vailsburg section of Newark, Ginger moved to Spring Lake as a summer resident when she was 14. The Spring Lake beaches were her peaceful haven and she amazed her family and friends by fiercely diving into the surf well into her 70s. She graduated from Star of the Sea High School and received her degree from Immaculata College in Washington, D.C., where she studied journalism. Ginger had a long and distinguished career with the New Jersey Highway Authority, where she served as the Assistant to the Chairman of the Board and as the Administrator of the Garden State Arts Center Foundation. After retiring from the Highway Authority, Hughie and Ginger operated the Doctor's Financial Network and travelled the country providing financial planning advice to doctors and dentists. Ginger was predeceased by her parents, Dennis F. and Lucille T. Carey; brothers, Dennis and Jimmy, and her three sisters, Joyce Salzmann, Bernice McCarthy and Peggy Carey. Her father, Dennis, was the Essex County Democratic Chairman in the 1950s and 1960s, and Ginger remained immensely proud of him her entire life. With great sadness, she is survived by her cherished and beloved husband of 37 years, Hugh Doherty, and eight step-children. She is also survived by 27 nieces and nephews, their husbands, wives and children, and countless others who all adored and considered her their Aunt Ginger as well. She, in turn, loved and spoiled each and every one of them. Ginger loved life, her family, and her friends. While no longer with us, her star will continue to shine brightly in all of us.

A celebration of her life will be held later this summer. Funeral arrangements have been entrusted to the O'Brien Funeral Home, Wall Twp. To post a tribute and share your memories, please visit www.obrienfuneralhome.com.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be sent in Ginger's memory to Shatterproof, 101 Merritt 7 Corporate Park, 1st Floor, Norwalk, CT 06851 www.shatterproof.org, or the One Angel Foundation, 52 Alcott Street, Acton MA 01720 www.oneangelfoundation.org.