Regina A. Doherty

Regina A. Doherty, 68, of West Haverstraw, NY, passed away on June 29, 2019 at the Brentwood Rehabilitation Center in Norwood, NJ, following a series of illnesses. 

Mrs. Doherty enjoyed a long and successful career as an educator and program coordinator for the New York Catholic Diocese in North Rockland.  She taught art and music for several years at St. Peter’s School and then taught religious studies at St. Gregory’s and Immaculate Conception schools.   As the coordinator of Religious Education at Immaculate Conception, Mrs. Doherty was a tireless advocate for the children of the Parish.  She was well known in North Rockland and she could go nowhere in the community without being greeted by past and present students or their parents.  

Mrs. Doherty was born on Sept. 4, 1950 in Brooklyn, NY, to Vincent and Dolores (nee Tighe) Accardi.  She graduated from St. Brendan’s High School in Brooklyn and earned her Bachelor’s Degree in English from St. Joseph’s College.

She met her husband, William O. Doherty, Jr., in 1969 when he was in the Coast Guard and she was a volunteer at Cardinal Spellman’s Serviceman’s Club.  They were engaged three months later and married on January 10, 1971.  She and her husband lived in Roanoke, VA, for a number of years before settling in Rockland County in 1977.

A creative and skilled seamstress, Mrs. Doherty lent her talents to a wide array of projects ranging from traditional quilts to Ewok costumes to outfits for the troupe at Coupe Theatre Studio.  Her greatest passion, however, was needlepoint and she was rarely seen at home or on vacation without a needlepoint project in her hands.  She was an avid reader and on those occasions when she wasn’t needlepointing, she’d be reading a book.

Mrs. Doherty was a lover of history and all things historic, and was a former volunteer with the Booker T. Washington National Monument in Virginia and the Historical Society of Rockland County.  Mrs. Doherty was known by her friends and family as an exceptional cook and she earned those accolades, her husband recalls, through multiple early culinary experiments on her spouse and neighbors.     

Mrs. Doherty always played an active role in the lives of her children and served for many years as den mother for both the Girl Scouts and Cub Scouts. Her daughter, Angela, remembers her mother teaching her Girl Scout skills such as how to start a campfire and cook full meals, including cake, over an open fire. Angela carries memories of her mother’s homemade sauce and apple butter and all the creative cakes that were made for her birthdays—an R2 D2 cake being the favorite.

Mrs. Doherty’s son, Sean, recalls her as being fiercely protective of her three children “but at the same time she would be encouraging of all our endeavors.” Sean said that his mother “instilled in me a love of learning and a way of thinking for myself.  She taught me that you could disagree with others and not be disagreeable in doing so.”

Mrs. Doherty is survived by her husband, William of West Haverstraw; her daughter Angela of Vallejo, CA; her son Sean of Bainbridge Island, WA; her son Daniel of Stony Point; three grandchildren, Liam, Piper and Rocco, also of Bainbridge Island, WA.  Mrs. Doherty is also survived by her mother, Dolores Accardi of Pearl River; her sister Angela Kelly of Pearl River; her brother Thomas Accardi of Valley Cottage; her sister Mary Accardi of Highland Mills; her sister Kate Ingram of Rohnert, CA. She is also survived by numerous nieces and nephews.

Calling hours will be at the Wyman Fisher Funeral Home, 100 Franklin Ave., Pearl River NY, 2-4 p.m. and 7-9 p.m. on Friday, July 5, 2019.  A funeral Mass will be held at 10 a.m., Saturday, July 6, 2019 at the Church of the Immaculate Conception in Stony Point.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Immaculate Conception Food Pantry, 26 John Street, Stony Point, 10980.

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