William Charles Doherty Jr.

DOHERTY WILLIAM CHARLES DOHERTY, JR. Executive Director American Institute for Free Labor Development, AFL-CIO William Charles Doherty, age 83; fondly known as "Bill," was born Dec. 26, 1926, in Belleview, Ky., to William Charles Doherty Sr. and Gertrude Dacey Doherty died peacefully on August 28, 2011. Raised in the Washington, D.C. area, Doherty graduated from St. Paul's Catholic Academy High School, where he met his future wife, Jane Catherine Donovan, a Boston native. As a philosophy student at the Catholic University of America, he valued his education, which reflected his deep faith. He worked as a Capitol Hill police officer while completing his degree and was also a defensive lineman for the Catholic University football team. He also spent a brief period of his life in the St. Charles Seminary. The oldest of nine children, he spent his early childhood years in Cincinnati, where his father worked as a letter carrier and later rose to become the President of the National Association of Letter Carriers (NALC, AFL-CIO) and Vice President of the AFL-CIO, and served as the first U.S. Ambassador to Jamaica. Learning at his father's knee, Bill developed a strong interest and respect for workers and the difficult work of trade unions and dedicated more than 35 years working in the international labor movement, in the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU), the Postal Telephone and Telegraph International (PTTI) and the American Institute for Free Labor Development (AIFLD, AFL-CIO). Bill loved his country and enlisted in the U.S. Army Air Corps, serving as an aerial photographer in World War II. Following the war's conclusion, he assisted in rebuilding the trade union movement in Germany, supporting the anti-Nazi, dissident labor leaders and nascent democratic trade union movement that is today known as the Confederation of German Trade Unions (Deutscher Gewerteschaftsbund, DGB). After graduating from Catholic University, Bill attended the Georgetown University School of Linguistics and Georgetown Law School before serving the AFL-CIO in Belgium, Europe and Latin America as a representative of the Postal and Telephone and Telegraph International (PTTI). Following his experience in Europe and Latin America, he returned home to continue working in support of international democratic trade unions. Bill was ready for the call in 1961 when President John F. Kennedy's Alliance for Progress became the first U.S. initiative supporting labor's international role in nurturing democratic trade union movements abroad. From 1961 to 1996, Bill served the American Institute for Free Labor Development first as Director of Social Projects and later as Executive Director. He led the AIFLD under the direction of AFL-CIO Presidents George Meany, Lane Kirkland, Thomas R. Donahue and John J. Sweeney, and worked closely with American and international labor unions to assist trade unions throughout Latin America. AIFLD programs supported a broad range of assistance including exiled labor leaders and those imprisoned under dictatorships, housing programs, women leadership, legal assistance and political participation programs to fight discrimination and racism, and to support the genuine role of democratic trade unions, free from government control and political party interference. AIFLD's role in Latin America was supported and admired by world leaders, and included major successes in fostering the development of strong democratic trade unions in Latin America today. AIFLD helped to free political prisoners and workers unjustly imprisoned for speaking out on behalf of independent trade unions and those who supported freedom of association and expression against their own harsh circumstances or dictatorships that characterized much of the region, including Cuba, Paraguay, Chile, Argentina, Guatemala, Haiti, El Salvador and Nicaragua. Decades of dedicated trade union work in these countries helped to lay the foundation for their accession to the International Labor Organization (ILO) and their rightful participation in the Organization of American States (OAS), as well as the United Nations bodies and, most importantly, the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC). Survivors include his wife of 52 years, Jane Catherine Donovan and his eight children, William Charles (Bill) and Joann Doherty of Frederick, Md., Daniel Leo (Dan) Doherty and Jewel Lee Huff of Sterling, Va., Martin Doherty of McLean,Va., Brian and Adrianne Doherty of McLean, Va., Lawrence and Tulla Doherty of Fairfax, Va., Mary Bernadette Doherty of Falls Church, Va., Jane Catherine (Janie) and Joe Mack of Annandale, Va., and Grace Margaret (Gracie) and Stephen LaFalce of Fairfax, Va. In his retirement years, Bill enjoyed the horse races and travel but was most proud of all of his moments as a wonderful grandfather to his 25 grandchildren, who will all miss him dearly. Bill was a man of deep faith, vision and purpose and loved his friends and family with all of his heart. In lieu of flowers, the family asks for contributions to be made to the Autism Society of America, 4340 East West Highway, Ste., 350, Bethesda, MD, 20814 or online at www.autismsociety.org in the name of his grandson, John Michael Doherty of Frederick, Md. Friends and colleagues of Bill Doherty will be received at Murphy's Funeral Home, 1102 West Broad Street, Falls Church, Va. on Wednesday, August. 31, from 2 to 4 pm and 6 to 8 p.m. A Catholic mass and Christian burial will be celebrated at Bill's home parish of St. John the Beloved Catholic Church, 6420 Laneway Terrace in McLean, Va., on Thursday, September 1, at 10:30 am. Friends and colleagues of Bill Doherty will be received at Murphy's Funeral Home, 1102 West Broad Street, Falls Church, Va. on Wednesday, August. 31, from 2 to 4 pm and 6 to 8 p.m. A Catholic mass and Christian burial will be celebrated at Bill's home parish of St. John the Beloved Catholic Church, 6420 Laneway Terrace in McLean, Va., on Thursday, September 1, at 10:30 am.