Michael John "Mike" Dooher
Marriages
Eunice Saya Dooher
Obituaries
Vail Daily page A5 - July 10, 2014
Michael John Dooher, 1923-2014.
Our hero, Col. Michael Dooher, is now soaring with the eagles.
He was born in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Mike was a fighter pilot in the RAF, joining at age 17. By 19, he was in the Royal Canadian Armed Forces, flying Spitfires, B-24s, Liberators, CF100s, T-Birds and CF-101 Voodoos. Mike and his family were transferred to Colorado Springs in 1971, where he became the Canadian commander in chief at NORAD.
He retired from the service in 1978 to pursue his love of skiing by becoming a ski instructor in Vail until the tender age of 78. Afterwards, he enjoyed many more winters on the slopes, every fall at the Air Force football games and summers on the Academy golf course.
Mike will be deeply missed by his children: Dani (Bill) Nanaimo, British Columbia; Loretta Anne (Reg) Brantford, Ontario; Patti (Joe), Colorado Springs; Michael (Shannon) Langley, British Columbia; Bob (Sue), Colorado Springs; Sean (Mina) Nanaimo, British Columbia; Theresa (Ken), Aurora; and Chris, Colorado Springs; by his 15 grandchildren; six great-grandchildren; many family and friends; and especially by those lucky enough to call him friend.
Mike was predeceased by his wife of 50 years, Eunice nee Saya, his sisters Margaret and Kay, and brother Edward. He’s survived by his sister Betty Woods and brothers Frank and James Dooher, all of Ottawa.
Services will be held on Saturday at 3:30 p.m. at Shrine of Remembrance, 1730 East Fountain Blvd., Colorado Springs. A second service will be held in Ottawa at a later date. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the fight against Parkinson’s through the Michael J. Fox Foundation at www.michaeljfox.org/donations.
Living the dream, forever flying!
