Docherty, Patrick Joseph (10/1/2003)

Our Patrick Joseph Docherty passed away on October 1, 2003. While he was listed on the College’s announcement as living in Great Falls, Virginia (9641 Georgetown Pike, 22066, no phone listed), his place of death and its cause are unknown. His next of kin is listed as Linda Melandinidis, a sister (95 Cindy Drive, Buffalo, NY 14221-3059).

Patrick came to Dartmouth from Levittown, NY, where he was in the National Honor Society and student government; he played football and was on the track team.

He was a member of The Tabard and was a 1972 Thayer School graduate. Under his Dartmouth Activities on the College’s form, it says, “President, 1972 – 2003.” I wonder if that refers to a local Dartmouth Club. The source of the information on his death is the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. At the website I found this obituary:

Patrick Joseph Docherty: Suddenly on Wednesday, October 1, 2003, of Great Falls, Virginia; son of the late Patrick J. Docherty Sr. and Genevieve Docherty; brother of Linda Melandinidis and her husband, Vasilios Melandinidis; uncle of Genevieve and Rozana Melandinidis. A memorial service to celebrate Patrick's life [was] held on October 4 at the residence of Kathleen Milks of Great Falls, VA. Patrick was a graduate of Dartmouth College, Class of 1969. His career as an engineer provided him with opportunities to travel in the U.S. and internationally. His most recent position was with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission in the D.C. area. Mr. Docherty was an avid runner who participated in the D.C. Marathon. His kindness, generosity and sense of humor will be missed, but remembered. (Published Sunday, October 5, 2003)

I posted this announcement to the Class email list and received several responses.

Tim Means («TMeans@crowell.com») wrote: “I lost track of Pat many years ago, when he was working for Westinghouse outside of Pittsburgh. Pat had been married at one point, to a blond girl named Sandy, I think, from Colby Jr. or a junior college in Boston. They had already been dating for a couple of years when we graduated from Dartmouth. Pat had a little green sports car he loved and worked on endlessly. He also was adopted by a Hanover town dog named Yankee, a golden lab, and the two were inseparable, both of them living in the Tabard for at least our junior and senior years. Perhaps Steve Clagett can tell us more. They were good friends, perhaps as roommates in the dorm before moving into the Tabard. I remember Pat felt he was cursed with the world's slowest metabolism. Once he told me that he gained weight just walking down the aisle of the Super Duper (“the Duper”). True or not, he added heft to the front line of our Tabard intramural football team. He was an incredibly sweet and decent fellow.”

Charlie Hodgson («charlie@hytekltd.com»): “Pat’s name elicits fond memories of our Dartmouth days. I too was an engineering major and Pat lived down the hall from me on the third floor of Topliff, Freshman and Sophomore years. I was never aware of Pat’s slow metabolism, at least while in school. One of my favorite memories and stories that I have often told over the years is how much Pat could eat (I could put down a fair share myself). Pat would sometimes go on these fasting days to lose weight (maybe he was concerned about metabolism, I don't know) and one day after he had been fasting a day or two, we decided to have an eating contest at Thayer Hall dinner. We both ate about three servings of everything in the line and then started to hit the desserts. I can't remember exactly the number but it was after around 13 desserts each that I quit. Pat took one more bite to win and then headed out to puke. Later that night, I had a few yogurts before going to bed and never puked, so I thought I really won! For some time after, we both had a lot of good laughs about this. Even though I have not seen Pat in a very long time, I miss him.”

Bob Garman («p3garm@juno.com»): “He was one of the nicest people you could meet. His dog Yankee sprawled out in many a Thayer School classroom and was able to sleep comfortably while the rest of us struggled to stay awake. It's sad to think that three of the Eng. Science ’69s have now departed: Bob Dickgeisser, Bob Luckury, and now Pat.”

Tom McWhorter («tmcwhorter@cdgtechnology.com»): “Pat and I were team members in my favorite course at Dartmouth (ES 21). It was the first engineering class and was taken in the fall of Sophomore year. Teams of five or six students formed companies to develop a new product. The theme in our year was undersea work. Our team developed a heated wet suit to prevent hypothermia in divers. Since Pat owned a wet suit that he let us modify, he was appointed to test the product. I remember him immersed in a tank of ice water with thermometers in various orifices measuring the effect of our heating system on his temperature. Amazingly, we neither froze nor boiled him, though I think there were some near misses. I also remember 1969, when Yankee went about with his fur dyed a fluorescent pink and green. He looked spectacular in black light.”