Obituary: George E. Doty, Sr.

Doty, Sr. - George Espy, 94, Wall St. Legend, retired Partner of Goldman Sachs & Co., former Partner of Lybrand, Ross Brothers and Montgomery, veteran of World War II, leading Catholic philanthropist, humanitarian, mentor, cancer survivor, heart attack survivor, miracle worker, longest living Doty of his lineage, devoted husband of the late Marie Doty, beloved father, grandfather, great grandfather, brother and uncle, of Rye, NY, Naples, FL and formerly of Smith's Parish, Bermuda died peacefully at home surrounded by his family on April 24, 2012 after a long illness.  He was an inspiration to all who knew him.

Born in Manhattan, George was the 4th of 6 children of Dr. George E. Doty and Lillian Gertrude (Bergen).  He graduated from Collegiate School in 1934, received a B.S. from Fordham University in 1938 and an M.S. from Columbia University in 1939.  He began his career in 1936 working nights as a clerk for the City of New York Department of Sanitation. After graduating from Columbia, he joined Price Waterhouse.  His career continued at General Motors before he enlisted to serve in the Navy in 1942.  Upon his return from the War, he joined Richards  & Ganley before eventually joining Lybrand.  He became a senior partner there before joining a client firm, Goldman Sachs in November 1964 as a general partner.  He retired and became a "Limited Partner" in November of 1984.

He had an extraordinary professional career filled with accomplishment, but he was most proud of his philanthropy, largely inspired by the example of his mentor Gustave Levy, whom he often said was the most generous man he knew.

His loyalty and generosity to his family, business partners and friends was unmatched.  He served as a trustee of Fordham University from 1971-1980, as Chairman from 1977-1980 and was honored to be considered their most consistent donor.  He was the President of the Collegiate School Board Of Trustees from 1972-1977.  He was a Director of Foundations & Donors Interested in Catholic Activities (FADICA).   He was a former Chairman of the Board of St. Vincent's Hospital.  He was a founding member of the American Federation for Aging Research (AFAR) and served as Chairman from 1987-1993.

George, a descendant of Edward Doty who came to the United States on the Mayflower, served as Governor of the Society of Mayflower Descendants in the State of New York and as President of the Sons of the Revolution in the State of New York (1967-69).

He served as Lieutenant of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem Eastern Lieutenancy.  He was a Knight of the Order of Malta.

He received an Honorary Doctorate (Doctor of Laws) from Fordham University in 1981 and from Adamson University (Doctor of Humane Letters) in 1994.

He will be best remembered for his 63-year marriage to Marie Doty (Ward) who died in 2008.  He was a doting and loving husband providing exemplary care particularly during the later stages of her life.

He is survived by all of his adoring children, Anne Marie (C. Lawrence) Paine of Fairfield, CT, Barbara Doty of Sag Harbor, NY, Virginia Doty of NYC, George (Le-ellen Spelman) Doty, Jr. of NYC & William (Jana Hale) Doty of Harrison, NY, 16 grandchildren and 9 great grandchildren with another due in July.  He is also survived by his loving sister, Joan (Peter) O'Rourke, Palm Springs, CA and 17 nieces and nephews.

The family will receive friends on Sunday, April 29th from 12-6 PM at Graham Funeral Home, 1036 Boston Post Rd., Rye, NY.  A Mass of Christian Burial will be offered at the Church of the Resurrection, 910 Boston Post Rd., Rye, NY on Monday, April 30th at 11 AM.

In lieu of flowers, friends are strongly encouraged to make donations in his memory to either Asian Relief, Inc., 180 Admiral Cochrane Blvd., Suite 240, Annapolis, MD 21401 or Catholic Near East Welfare Association, 1011 First Ave., New York, NY 10022.