Edward F. ‘Ed’ Doherty, 98, of Hutchinson, died February 8, 2020, at Hester Care Center, Hutchinson. He was born October 31, 1921, in Ashland, Wisconsin, the son of The Reverend E. S. Doherty and Elizabeth Anne (Skuce) Doherty.
Ed attended Haviland High School for three years, graduating from Bucklin High School in 1939. He was granted a B. A. degree from Kansas Wesleyan University in 1947, and a M. Ed. Degree from the University of Colorado in 1951. Ed also completed additional graduate studies at the University of Kansas. Ed was a Social Studies teacher and head basketball coach at Stockton and Anthony High Schools for six years. A resident of Hutchinson since 1955, he retired from Cessna Fluid Division, where Ed held the position of Director of Personnel and Planning.
On December 20, 1946, he married Hazel Fae Hurlbut in Salina, Kansas. They shared 66 years of marriage before her death on March 11, 2013.
Ed is survived by: daughters, Linda Hopwood and husband Jim, Spring Hill, and Janet Ellis and husband Richard, Hutchinson; granddaughters, Jennifer Hopwood and husband Tim Dickson of Omaha, NE, and Erica Hopwood of Manhattan, KS; grandson, Corey Ellis of Chicago, IL; and great-grandson, Theodore Dickson.
He was preceded in death by: his parents; wife, Hazel F. Doherty; sister, Rosaleen Murray; and great-granddaughter, Rosalie Dickson.
Ed was a United States Army Veteran of World War II, serving with the 412th Medical Collecting Co. in British and Dutch New Guinea, the Philippine Islands, and Japan. Ed was a member of Trinity United Methodist Church, Hutchinson/ Reno County Chamber of Commerce (where he was elected twice to the Board of Directors, American Legion Lysle Rishel Post 68, Service Corps of Retired Executives, charter member of Hutchinson Civitan Club, where he served as their first President.
Ed was deeply involved in community service at local and state levels. He served as Drive Chairman for the Community Chest Organization. Based on that experience, he helped to create the task force which brought the establishment of the United Way of Reno County. He served the City of Hutchinson as Chairman of the Human Relations Council, City Planning Commission, and Board of Zoning Appeals. In addition, Ed was appointed to represent the Reno County Commission on the Board of Horizons Mental Health Center, serving one term as Chairman. He was on the Board of Hospice of Reno County, when it became an affiliate of Health Care, Inc. Ed was a founding member and early president of the Hutchinson Personnel Relations Council, which evolved into Central Kansas Society for Human Resource Management. Although Ed left the field of education as a teacher after six years, it remained a major interest both personally and professionally. The growth of the Cessna Fluid Power Division created major training demands that emphasized the need for increased emphasis on vocational education at both local and state levels. Working with the U.S. Department of Labor Bureau of Apprenticeship, Ed helped develop a training program at Cessna known as ‘Earn While You Learn’ that became a national model. When the Area Vocational- Technical School concept was created, Ed served on a three-county task force designed to bring one of the six schools allocated to Kansas to this area. He served for nine years on the General Advisory Committee of the Central Kansas Area Vocational-Technical School, which now operates as a division of Hutchinson Community College. The U.S. Congressional legislation, which created the Area Schools, also provided that each state must form a State Advisory Council for Vocational Technical Education, charged with evaluating progress within the state. Ed was appointed to the Kansas Council as an industry representative and was subsequently elected as its first chairman. During the 1980’s, he served as Chairman of the Education Committee of the Kansas Council of Commerce and Industry, and as a Trustee of Kansas Wesleyan University, where he chaired the Academic Affairs Committee.
Cremation has taken place. Memorial service will be 10 a.m. Saturday, February 15, 2020, at Trinity United Methodist Church, 1602 N. Main, with The Reverend Dr. Kim Biery officiating. Military honors will be conducted by the Fort Riley Honor Guard. Private family inurnment will take place in the Fairlawn Burial Park Mausoleum, Hutchinson. Friends may sign the book from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesday through Friday at Elliott Mortuary.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests memorials to Trinity United Methodist Church or Hutchinson Community College Endowment Association (for the Ed and Hazel Doherty Scholarship Fund, in care of Elliott Mortuary, 1219 N. Main, Hutchinson, KS 67501.