Fred William Dougherty Jr.

Fred was born on October 23, 1936 in Warren, Ohio. He moved to Tallahassee with his parents in 1946 and attended Caroline Brevard Elementary School (now the Bloxham Building) and Leon High School. In 1960 he earned a Bachelor of Aeronautical Engineering degree from Georgia Tech. After graduation, Fred worked two years for Pan American Airways at Idlewild (now Kennedy) airport in New York. While at Pan Am he joined the Ready Reserve and served his US army basic training under the Defense Department's Critical Skill program.

After leaving Pan Am, Fred moved to West Palm Beach to work for the Pratt & Whitney Aircraft Florida Research and Development Center on various rocket and jet engine projects. It was in West Palm Beach that Fred fell in love and married Delphine Richie, his friend, companion, and life's love. In 1976 he moved back to Tallahassee to work for Wayne Coloney on development of the A-10 ammunition loading machine.

Fred left Coloney in 1979 to go into business for himself as an air conditioning and building systems engineering consultant. In 1990 he became staff mechanical engineer for the Leon County School Board, a position he held until 1998 when he accepted the same title for the Florida Department of Corrections. After retirement from the State in 2003, Fred continued to do free-lance air conditioning systems design for local architects and owners.

Fred loved flying, fishing, sailing, hiking, and camping. In 1971 he took his family - Delphine and his two young daughters - on a six week camping trip across the country to Yellowstone Park and back. Including his children and grandchildren in his favorite activities, he instilled in them a deep and abiding sense of wonder and love for the beauty of nature and wild creatures. He and Delphine took sailing vacations in the Bahamas, Belize, the Virgin Islands, and the Florida Keys. After retirement, they toured the country from New Mexico to Glacier National Park to Nova Scotia with a popup camper, and visited friends and relatives in California and Hawaii.

Fred is preceded in death by his parents, Fred W. Sr and Jane May Dougherty, and his brother, Joseph Sanford Dougherty. He is survived by his wife of 51 years, Delphine, his daughters MaryEl Duncan (Matthew) and Cynthia Jane Kearney (Matt), and four grandchildren.

A celebration of Fred’s life will be held at Culley’s MeadowWood Funeral Home, Riggins Road Chapel, on Saturday October 4, 2014 at 12:30pm.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations in Fred’s memory to Coastal Conservation Association, or any organization dedicated to preserving and protecting our land and oceans.