Charles Edward Dougherty

Charles Edward “Ted” Dougherty passed away after an extended illness on February 14, 2023, at AdventHealth Carrollwood surrounded by his loving family at the age of 96. Ted would have been deeply disappointed at not reaching his goal of being 100 and being on a Smucker’s jelly jar, but that was Ted. Old age just caught up with him. Ted was born on September 30, 1926, in Montclair, New Jersey, to Charles Michael and Elizabeth (Noon) Dougherty.

Childhood

Ted lived in Montclair until he was 18 years old. He attended school at Immaculate Conception for 2 years and then attended Montclair High School.

US Navy - South Pacific Theatre

Graduating from high school, Ted enlisted in the U.S. Navy during WWII from 1944 to 1946 and performed his duty as a motor machinist mate serving on LST-219 (Landing Ship, Tank) as well as onshore duty as a U.S. Navy SEABEE (CB = Construction Battalion). LSTs were used in WWll to transport warfighters, armament (including tanks) and supplies across oceans, delivering them to destinations across the globe where the fighting was underway. At sea, Ted was primarily responsible for the ship’s engines. An LST was powered by two 800HP diesel engines and had a range of 24,000 miles. The LST had a cruising speed of about 12 knots and was lovingly nicknamed by its crew as a “Long Slow Target.”

Ted spent a short time on the island of Truk, previously held by the Japanese until the U.S retook it. Ted spent a longer time on the island of Manus where he oversaw the Motor Pool and the servicing of all motorized vehicles on the island.

When the war ended, Ted traveled from Manus to New Zealand on an LST. During the trip, the ship was overtaken by a typhoon and the ship began having serious difficulties. Cracks began to appear in the steel hull, and the crew raced against time to weld steel plates over the cracks from the inside of the steel hull to keep the ship from sinking. The constant pounding of the wind-driven waves with the flat-bottomed ship crashing down from their peaks, caused one of the two propeller shafts to bend, cutting the propulsion in half and adding to the ship’s perils.

Ted was called up to active U.S. Navy duty again in 1950 during the Korean War and served stateside and at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, until he was honorably discharged in 1951. Ted attended Seton Hall College in New Jersey for 3 years majoring in chemistry.

From his Navy days working on Jeeps and marine diesel engines alike, he carried his mechanical skills into civilian life. He worked on cars including his ‘58 Ford station wagon (that often needed repairs), and he enjoyed letting his kids help, even if it was just “holding the light.” Ted’s mechanical skills were passed on to his kids (some, that is) with Pete obtaining a degree in mechanical engineering and Jim working as an auto mechanic for a while.

Rivets and Sailing

Ted always loved the water and sailing in particular. As a young man, he sailed on Barnegat Bay in New Jersey. Around 1960, he purchased an 18-foot, cedar-hulled Oslo Class sloop named “Rivets” (because the hull planks were fastened together with brass rivets). He enjoyed sailing it on Deer Lake in Clarkston, Michigan, where the family resided until 1968. The wooden mast was 22 feet long, and with all the steel cables attached, must have weighed close to 100 pounds. His boys remember proudly watching their (superman) Dad standing it up vertically from the parking lot, lifting it up 6 feet into the air to place it into the sailboat hull while the sailboat was still on its trailer ready to be launched into the lake. The precarious process usually drew a crowd of onlookers. He reluctantly sold Rivets when the family moved to Florida, but he often later lamented that he wished he had kept it.

While in Clarkston, Ted partnered with his good friend, Al Hamilton, to start the Deer Lake Regatta. While sounding impressive, it was an opportunity for Ted and Al, as the only two entrants, to race their sail boats on Deer Lake. Al, in his Sunfish sailboat, always won. Eventually, this turned into creating a float for the town’s 4th of July parade where Rivets, on its trailer would be decorated and towed with the mast from Al’s sailboat inserted in place of the much taller Rivets mast.

Later, Ted had his son Jim’s sailboat docked at his house for a while and enjoyed sailing out on Tampa Bay. For a few years at Christmas time, they would decorate the sailboat with lights and motor up and down the canals with many family members aboard, singing Christmas carols for the neighbors and drinking hot chocolate.

Music

Ted loved music of all kinds and was often found whistling a tune while going about his day. He owned several classical music albums, and like many others of his day, he enjoyed the Big Band music of the 1940’s. In the 1960’s, he bought a HiFi stereo record player when Stereo technology hit the market. Around that time, one of his favorite music genres was Dixieland Jazz; he especially liked an album by the Washington Square Village Stompers. Later he enjoyed the music of Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass, Credence Clearwater Revival, and others. While working as kitchen staff at a music/dance hall in his teenage years in New Jersey, he met a number of the singers and band members that stopped there from New York City on their multi-state performance tour circuits. It was there he met folks like Tommy Dorsey and Frank Sinatra. Ted’s love of music inspired a similar appreciation of music in his children and grandchildren.

Years with a Young Family

Ted was married to Ruth Clara Gabel 1947 to 1972. Ted was always supportive and engaged with his children. While he was never an avid fisherman, growing up in Michigan with abundant lakes, he made sure that his boys, especially Mike and Pete (who were old enough during that period), had fishing rods and supplies, and eventually, a small aluminum boat powered by an old Clinton 3.6 hp engine in order to fish the streams and nearby lakes.

Recognizing that the kids had different interests and succumbing to repeated requests, he bought Mike and Pete each tennis racquets ($2 apiece!). That summer’s hobby turned into a full scholarship college education for Mike after a successful high school experience, and ultimately into Mike’s first “real” job as a Head Tennis Professional at a Midwest indoor tennis facility. In addition to supporting those athletic interests, Ted also coached little league baseball while in Clarkston.

Life in Florida

Ted and his family moved from Clarkston to Tampa to start a new insurance office. Later he worked with American Bailer in Jacksonville as Vice President. Ted was married to Norine Dougherty on March 2, 1974. Working for American Bailer allowed for the opportunity for Ted and Norine to travel to Japan where they learned to love Japanese food. Cooking was an important part of Ted’s life and Japanese food became a highlight of his cooking skills for many years. They built a home on a canal just off the St. John’s River in Jacksonville. Ted loved being able to boat on the river and look onto the canal for the huge alligator that lived there. They would have to keep a close on their dogs Pixie and Sherlock to keep them from being a small meal for that gator. Ted loved boating and hated to move from their house on the water. But they eventually wanted to move back to Tampa to be closer to family and friends. In 1977, they found a wonderful home in Dana Shores on the water and bought a Stamas motorboat called the Sazerac, and later a pontoon boat. Looking over the canal and boating on the Upper Tampa Bay was a source of joy for Norine and Ted. His nickname was Captain Bumpa, and he had a hat to prove it! Their dogs Ginger and later Cody were frequent passengers.

His hobbies included golf, cooking, wine, travel and attending sports. They lived down the street from Rocky Point Golf Course. Ted loved to give instructions to his family members (whether they wanted to hear it or not) on how to be better golfers. His happiest golf day was at Kapalua Golf Course in Hawaii looking at the whales jumping in the Pacific Ocean. Ted was a wonderful cook. He loved cooking and grilling food of all types and was proud to share the recipes he wrote and teach others his skills. His travels to Europe led to a love of fine wine. He quoted the statement that he loved to cook with wine and sometimes he would put it in the food. He and the family would do wine tastings and seek the best pairing with the food they were enjoying. One of Ted’s fondest stories was telling about buying fresh loaves of French bread in the local bakeries in Paris. Ted was a lover of family gatherings especially birthdays, Thanksgiving and Christmas. Inevitably that would create another opportunity for great food and wine. Ted and Norine traveled to Europe, Japan and the Caribbean, often with family and friends. Ted was also a huge fan of travel to the many beautiful parts of the Western US and Canada. Ted attended the Tampa Bay Bucs, Rays, Lightning, Rowdies, Bandits and USF Bulls. And now the family has inherited all the caps and shirts! Did we mention that Ted was a good dancer? He claimed he was a tap dancer in his youth, and loved to dance at weddings.

Ted worked until he was 95. Imagine that. Ted and Norine were both involved in real estate with Gulf Coast Brokers Group, and later as TedCorp for commercial property management. During later years he would mentor others in property management, again sharing his knowledge with others. He always felt that work kept his mind busy. He would still be working on the day he died if his body had not limited his ability to get around.

Ted is survived by his loving wife of 48 years, Norine (Hodgins) Dougherty, daughter Lisa Mendel, sons Michael (Kandy), Peter (Corinne) and James (Janeen) Dougherty, step-daughter Beth (Dick) Walker, and step-son Brad (Kathy) Bjornstad, MD, and many grandchildren and great-grandchildren, his sister Elizabeth (Donald) McCoy and brothers Joe (Adele) and Paul (Angie). He was predeceased by his daughter Christine Mendel, and his brothers Ray (Val) and Robert (Erin). He will be interred at the National Cemetery in Bushnell on March 14, 2023. Ted was immensely proud of time in the Navy and will be forever grateful to be buried with his fellow Veterans. We’d all love to hear the stories they will share! Why did all this fun have to end? DAMIFINO (as he had on his favorite hat). Ted will be sorely missed by everyone who was blessed to know him.

A visitation for Charles will be held Monday, February 20, 2023 from 2:00 PM to 4:00 PM at Blount & Curry FH-Carrollwood, 3207 W Bearss Ave, Tampa, FL 33618. A graveside service will occur Tuesday, March 14, 2023 from 2:00 PM to 2:30 PM at Florida National Cemetery, 6502 S. W. 102nd Ave, Bushnell, FL 33513.