Mary Josephine Doherty

Mary Josephine Doherty (née Stone) passed away on Tuesday, July 23, 2019 after battling cancer. She died peacefully at the Crystal Coast Hospice House, surrounded by family and friends. She was 73 years old.

A funeral mass will be held at 10:00 am on Friday, July 26, 2019 at Saint Paul’s Catholic Church in New Bern. Celebrants will be Fr. Robert Schmid and Fr. Bill John Acosta Escobar. Mary’s family will receive friends from 9:00 to 10:00 am at the church.

Mary was born on April 22, 1946 in Derry City, Northern Ireland. She was the eldest of six children born to James and Kathleen Stone. Mary grew up in the small farming community of Kilgort in Northern Ireland, where her parents taught in the local elementary school. Her mother and father were her earliest teachers, holding her to high standards, while encouraging a love of learning and an independent nature that endured throughout her life. As a mark of the changing times, Mary’s mother Kathleen was the first woman who was permitted to continue teaching after marriage in the Diocese of Derry.

Starting at age 11, Mary attended boarding school in Loreto, Coleraine. In the loneliness of being away from home, she learned to form close friendships that were important to her throughout her life. Boarding school also prompted her life-long relationship with chocolate, a faithful companion in good times and in bad.

When Mary was 14, she went to an Irish-language summer camp in Ranafast, a village in Donegal. She traveled to the camp by bus, where she caught the eye of a 14-year-old boy named Eamon Doherty. Although Mary did not notice Eamon on that bus, Eamon promised himself that he would find a way to get to know her. Approximately 10 years later, Eamon got his chance after he saw Mary coming out of a concert in Derry. They began to date, although Kathleen insisted that Eamon buy a better overcoat if he was going to walk out with her daughter. When Eamon introduced Mary to his own mother, Maureen, she told him to “hang on to that one.” He listened to that advice, and after dating for six weeks they agreed to marry. Eamon held on to her for the next 50 years. Eamon and Mary married in 1971, and they have four children: Ronan, Fiona, Paul, and Eamon.

In the early years of married life, Mary balanced her career as a pharmacist in Derry with caring for her four young children, relying on the support of both families. Eamon worked as a chemical engineer at DuPont. In 1982, DuPont transferred Eamon to Holland and then in 1984 to Waynesboro, Virginia, launching Mary’s life in the United States. When DuPont asked Eamon to remain in Virginia, Mary agreed, giving up her own career and putting distance between herself and her friends and family, because her children were thriving in school. Eamon was transferred to Kinston, North Carolina in 1999, and they relocated to New Bern in 2000.

Mary’s four children know what an extraordinary person they had for a mother. She was at the center of their warm and happy home life. She made each of her children feel endlessly supported and loved at every stage of their lives.

Mary’s family would like to thank the excellent doctors and nurses who cared for her during her hospitalization at UNC Chapel Hill and at Carolina East in New Bern. The family is also profoundly grateful to the dedicated hospice staff who helped make her last days comfortable.

Mary is survived by her husband, Eamon, her four children, and the six grandchildren she spoiled and adored: Hannah, Liam, Sophia, Isabella, Maeve, and Quinn. She is survived by her siblings, Jim, Joe, Catriona, and Michele, whom she visited regularly in Ireland. Her parents and her sister Olivia died before her. Although Mary died suddenly – and much too soon – she will live on in the memory of all who were fortunate to be touched by her life.

Arrangements are entrusted to Cotten Funeral Home & Crematory.