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John Dooley, a Brother Hibernian It is with a degree of sadness that I write this eulogy for a brother Hibernian - John Dooley. I first met John over 15 years ago when I became a member of Division 2. At that point, John had held many important offices within the Ancient Order of Hibernians (Division President, County Chairman to name a few). He was at a stage in his Hibernian life where he was content to let others take over the reigns but he wanted to ensure things were done properly. He was a member of the Tara Court Major Degree Team for over 30 years and while he was not a founding member, I have it on good authority that Fred Stein recruited John as one of the early members of the Tara Court. We all have our favorite stories about John. One of them deals with my daughter Diane. She received a scholarship from the Division. John went to the High School and requested that he be allowed to present her with the Scholarship during the awards ceremony. On the awards ceremony day, John was the only one there to make the presentation from a representative organization giving an award. It really made Diane feel special. As a result of his actions, at subsequent award ceremonies, representatives from the various organizations granting awards have followed his suit. On many a night when I worked late, I would stop off at the hall before going home [mainly to use the facilities]. I would find John and Mary there. There was always a friendly hello and a word or two of encouragement. His words always seemed to make the journey that much easier. He will be sorely missed. |