William Francis Dorney, Jr.

Bill was born on December 17, 1945, to William Francis Dorney, Sr. and Catherine Madeline (nee. Pfoh) Dorney in Mt. Vernon, NY. He spent most of his formative years split between the Bronx and the family summer restaurant, The Lake Shore House, on Kinderhook Lake. The family moved their winter residence to Florida when Bill was in high school. After graduating from Bishop Barry High School in St. Peterburg FL in 1963, he followed cousins Gene and Joe Trautlein back to the Bronx to study Economics at Fordham University, earning a Bachelor of Arts in 1967.

In 1968, Bill met Donna Marie Spoonhower at an apartment party in New York City where they quarreled over the inefficiencies of the airline industry. Donna, a proud American Airlines flight attendant at the time, would then, and always, give Bill a run for his money. They wed on May 24, 1969 and celebrated their 54-year wedding anniversary in 2023. Together they had three daughters, Colleen, Jean, and Sharyn.

Over the years Bill worked various senior business management and IT executive jobs, most notably as the Chief Information Officer at Atlantic Electric in southern New Jersey, where he and Donna raised their three girls. He went on to work as an executive consultant at IBM, retiring in 2004 with Donna back to St. Petersburg, Florida. While in St Petersburg, Bill reconnected with old high school friends and volunteered at Eckerd College, advising students on career planning.

While the dream of retiring to Florida with a waterfront view had been successfully achieved, the view was not enough to keep him from his cherished grandchildren in North Carolina. He and Donna relocated to Raleigh in 2010, where he quickly immersed himself in the community as a fixture at the kids’ sporting events, a volunteer for the local chapter of the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, a parishioner at St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church, and founder of a new part-time business venture, Triangle Job Consultants.

Bill was a force of nature. He was sarcastic and quick witted, but always kind and generous with his time, attention, and advice. He was a storyteller, a lifelong lover of baseball, prolific maker of pancakes, skilled Jeopardy player, devoted father, husband, brother, and doting grandfather. Like his parents before him, he never met a stranger, and was deeply loved by all who had the pleasure of knowing him.

Bill is survived by his loving wife, Donna, his children Colleen (Robert) Vogler of Raleigh, NC, Jean (Brandon) Frank of Phoenixville, PA, Sharyn (David Norwood) Dorney of Atlanta, GA, sister Kathy (Paul) Bonnett of Staten Island, NY, and grandchildren Carly (Emily Pfaffenbach) and Alex Frank, and Owen, Olivia, and Zoe Vogler. He is predeceased by his parents, William and Catherine, and grandson Zachary Frank.

A funeral service will be held at St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church, 11401 Leesville Rd., Raleigh, NC, 27613, on Saturday, November 11, 2023, at 11 AM, with a reception to follow.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests those wishing to express sympathy consider making a donation to Catholic Charities of Raleigh or The Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.

Services provided by Brown-Wynne, 300 Saint Mary's Street, Raleigh.