James J. Dougherty Sr., 91, funeral home founder

James J. Dougherty Sr., 91, founder of the Levittown funeral home that bears his name, died of heart failure Thursday at the Yardley home of his daughter, Miriam.

Mr. Dougherty grew up in the Port Richmond section of Philadelphia, and graduated from North Catholic High School in 1936 and from Dolan College of Embalming in 1941.

A Navy veteran of World War II, he operated a funeral home in Port Richmond from 1955 to 1961, then became partner in the Beck-Dougherty Funeral Home in Levittown until he opened his own funeral home there in 1972, when he was 55.

Jack Bonner, current supervisor at that business, said that "most people at that age are thinking of retirement. . . . It's astonishing that he considered it."

Bonner noted that to add a personal touch Mr. Dougherty took furniture "out of his house and brought it over to this funeral home, which was a church that went out of business - St. Stephen's Church of Christ."

Mr. Dougherty retired in 1986, Bonner said, and moved to St. Petersburg Beach, Fla.

He was a president of the Levittown-Fairless Hills Rotary Club, Bonner said. At Queen of the Universe parish in the 1970s, he was president of the men's club, the Holy Name Society, and the St. Vincent de Paul Society.

In the 1960s, Bonner said, the St. Joseph the Workers Council of the Knights of Columbus named him Knight of the Year and later Sir Knight of the Year.

Mr. Dougherty was second vice president of the board of the Free Library of Levittown and a director of the Bucks County chapter of the Easter Seals Society.

In St. Petersburg Beach, his daughter said, he was a volunteer for the Day Star program, which distributed food and clothing to the less fortunate.

Besides his daughter, Mr. Dougherty is survived by a son, James Jr.; stepsons Kenneth and William Mellus; stepdaughters Cathy Whelan, Bunny Ritchie, and Pam Wilson; eight grandchildren; two great-grandchildren; 16 step-grandchildren; and 19 step-great-grandchildren. Mary, his wife of 36 years, died in 1981. His second wife, also named Mary, died in 2007.

A visitation will be from 8:30 to 10:30 a.m. today at the James J. Dougherty Funeral Home, 2200 Trenton Rd., Levittown, before an 11 a.m. Funeral Mass at Queen of the Universe Roman Catholic Church, 2443 Trenton Rd., Levittown. Burial will be in Resurrection Cemetery, Bensalem.