Edward Dougherty, a longtime Doylestown, PA resident and past president of Liberty Bell Park in Philadelphia, passed away in his sleep on Friday, January 18, 2019 at an assisted care facility in Brick, NJ. He was 95.
Born in Philadelphia and raised in Upper Darby, PA. Dougherty graduated from Upper Darby High School where he developed a lifelong friendship with famed basketball coach Jack Ramsey. He later graduated from the University of Pennsylvania on the GI Bill following his service in the U.S. Army in World War II. While behind enemy lines on a reconnaissance mission with the 86th Div., monitoring German refueling patterns during the Battle of the Ruhr Pocket, his unit was discovered and he was seriously wounded by an enemy artillery shell. He convalesced for more than a year in France before being shipped back to the States where he was discharged after further treatment in Philadelphia.
After having graduated from the Wharton School, Dougherty moved to San Leandro, CA to work with Sun Chemicals, where he sold printing ink for the newspaper industry throughout Northern California.
Dougherty returned to the Delaware Valley in the early 1960s to help in the building of Liberty Bell Park, a harness racing track in Philadelphia. Liberty Bell operated as a harness track and later a Thoroughbred track, from 1963 to 1986.
Dougherty served two terms as president of the Harness Tracks of America, the industry’s promotional arm, and earned numerous awards for his promotional abilities. He later worked as a consultant to the coal industry before retiring and devoting his time to a considerable slate of volunteer activities, first in Doylestown, PA and later in Bay Head, NJ.
He is survived by Gloria Dougherty, his wife 65 years, nine children, 13 grandchildren, four great grandchildren and his brother, Gerald. Among his children, son Neale is the current Bucks County Controller.
A Catholic Mass of Burial and a Celebration of Live will be held in Bay Head, NJ later in the spring.
Please join Standardbred Canada in offering condolences to the family and friends of Edward Dougherty.
(USTA)