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Obituary
Paul Dooley, an active land
preservationist, public servant, and successful
businessman, died May 26, 2018 after a long struggle
with GIST cancer.
Paul was born in New York City, the son of Raymond
Nelson Dooley from Blooming-ton, and Lovilla
(Frederick) Dooley from Walnut. Paul’s mother passed
away in 1946, and then his father remarried Florence
(Adams) Dooley. He grew up in Bronxville, NY, and
Bloomington. Paul attended Illinois State
University’s Lab School for a year or two, and later
attended Lincoln Community High School in
neighboring Lincoln, and gradu-ated in 1955. During
this time Paul’s father assumed the presidency of
Lincoln College. Paul received his Bachelor of Arts
in English in 1959 from Missouri’s Westminster Col-lege,
where he had played tennis, acted in theatrical
productions, and was a member of the Delta Tau Delta
fraternity. After serving in the Air National Guard
in Northeastern France, Paul moved to Kent, CT,
where he taught science at a private elementary
school, before going into the real estate business.
Paul met and married his first wife, Mary Anne
Downer, in 1969. In 1982, he married his second
wife, Beth Helene Dammerman, who had been his high
school and college sweetheart. She was born and
raised in Lincoln, the daughter of the late Herman
and Eloise Dammerman. Together, Paul and Beth
started a real estate company, Dooley Real Estate,
in Kent, CT. As a land preservationist, Paul was a
director of the Housatonic Val-ley Association and
helped with rerouting and purchasing land for the
Connecticut sec-tion of the Appalachian Trail. He
was an incorporator of Kent’s Pond Mountain Trust
and its first executive director for more than 45
years. Pond Mountain Trust covers more than 800
acres and is open to the public for educational,
scientific and cultural purposes. In addition, he
was a founding director of the Kent Land Trust.
Paul was also involved in public service. He was a
member of Kent’s Board of Select-men and a long-term
member of the town’s Planning and Zoning Commission.
He was also a founder and president of Kent’s Lions
Club and a member of the Affordable Housing Task
Force. For two decades, Paul ran the Local Grievance
Committee for Realtors. In addition, Paul was an
officer of the New Milford Board of Realtors and was
awarded Realtor of the Year. He was chosen to lead
the local Office of Realtors.
After spending many years vacationing in Green
Valley, AZ, Paul retired and became a full-time
resident in 2017. In his free time, Paul enjoyed
playing tennis, racing Formula Fords at Lime Rock
Park in Lakeville, CT, sailing in the British Virgin
Islands with fami-ly and friends, and playing golf.
Paul will be sadly missed by his brother Raymond;
wife Beth of 36 years; son Kenneth; three stepsons
John, Mark, and Stephen; two stepdaugh-ters Caroline
and Anne; and eight grandchildren. Paul was
predeceased by his sister Virginia. |
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