Celeste Doherty

Alvord, IA: Celeste Doherty, 95 of Cortland, New York died Friday, June 13, 2014 at the Cortland Park Rehabilitation and Nursing Center in Cortland, New York. A graveside service will be held on Saturday, August 30, 2014 at 3:00 p.m. at St. Mary’s Catholic Cemetery in Alvord, Iowa. Father Bruce Lawler will officiate. A Mass of Christian Burial was held on Friday June 20, 2014 at St. Anthony of Padua Roman Catholic Church with Rev. Joseph Zareski serving as celebrant. Condolences for the family may be left online at www.porterfuneralhomes.com. The family suggests that instead of flowers, memorial contributions be made to her home parish, St. Anthony of Padua Catholic Church, in Cortland, or to the Celeste Doherty Music Scholarship Fund (West Lyon School Foundation, 1787 Iowa 182, Inwood, IA 51240), which will provide scholarship funds to post-secondary music students from Alvord, Iowa.

Celeste Doherty was born on August 22, 1918, the daughter of Mary (Barron) Doherty and Bernard Doherty, in Alvord, Iowa. She attended rural school and Alvord High School, and after one year at Mount St. Clare Junior College in Clinton, Iowa, she began her teaching career at a rural school. She also taught in Lester, Iowa, and after receiving a B.A. in Music Education at Iowa State Teachers College in Cedar Falls, Iowa, she served in Marshalltown, Iowa, as Supervisor of Elementary Music. In 1954 she completed a Master's degree in Music Education from Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois, and accepted a position at Cortland, New York, at Cortland State Teachers College as Assistant Professor of Music. In addition to being Supervisor of Vocal Music K-8 in the Campus School, she also taught several courses in Music Methods in College.

In 1959 she joined the American Book Company as a music consultant, a position which required travel throughout the eastern half of the U.S. She retired in 1981 when the company was sold. Celeste loved to read but when her sight failed was (reluctantly!) forced to resort to books-on-tape. She also enjoyed cooking, knitting, playing cards, and listening to her extensive collection of recordings. She never thought of herself as a "joiner," although she did belong to St. Anthony's Altar Society and Church Women United, serving in various offices of both organizations.

Celeste was preceded in death by her parents; her younger brothers, Richard and Phil; and Margaret "Peggy" (Doherty) Palmieri, a niece. Survivors include nine nieces and nephews in California, Colorado, and Michigan, numerous grandnieces and grandnephews, and a beloved god-daughter in Truxton, New York.