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Anyone who met my father, Hugh Patrick Doherty was sure to remember him. He was a vibrant, enthusiastic, helpful, and supportive man to all who had the fortune to enter into his world. Unfortunately, we lost my father on February 2nd, 2021, completely unexpectedly. I know, however, that his impact and legacy will live on forever. He shaped me into the man I am today and touched so many other people in his 67 years, without even trying. He made being the life of the party and the hardest working man in the room seem effortless. He also left a physical legacy. From the ITC Building at 111 Fourth Ave where he resided for 44 years, to Ellis Island, to Grand Central Terminal, there are many buildings in the great City of New York that he helped shape to the way they are today. Millions of people walk into areas and see the work he helped create, and never know it. Of course, there have literally been tens of thousands of others who helped, but none like my dad.

The list of accomplishments my father achieved is incredibly vast. He had the privilege in his career to work on some incredible projects and buildings. His career started out as a custodian for the NYC public school system by utilizing some of the lessons his father had taught him. You see we come from a long line of stubborn Irish men that are quick, resourceful, and creative to figure out a way to get the job done, no matter what. His father was a painter for AT&T and worked hard to put my father and his 3 siblings through 12 years of catholic school education and still get them back to Ireland for many summers.

Before working for the school my father worked at a local gas station "Ollie's Exxon" on Webster Avenue. This is where he met my mother. My mother's cousin was married to another man that worked there, and from what I was told, my father became smitten with my mother from the first time they met. The fact that he was 9 and a half years her junior didn't phase him in the slightest. He knew she was the one for him and he did everything he could to get her to go on a date. She finally agreed to go on a date "with this kid just to prove it wouldn't work". I guess he proved her wrong. Any of you who knew both of them know proving my mother wrong was a feat unto itself, and I think she liked that he was able to, at times.

After working in the school he was able to land a job as a resident manager in a new apartment building in Manhattan. Little did anyone know at the time that this would shape the rest of his life. He and my mother moved into 111 Fourth Avenue in 1977, and he never left. When the building went Co-op a couple of years later he worked so hard and was so instrumental in getting things done the developer hired him to assist him in other projects. This started my father's path of construction management. This provided him the ability to work on some incredible projects and truly helped shape New York City to what it is today. The list is incredibly long, but here are some highlights. His work includes the Barbizon hotel, 7 Hanover Square, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, Brooklyn Metro Tech Center (which was the start of the revitalization of downtown Brooklyn), Ellis Island, Grand Central Terminal, and most recently Hudson Yards. Some of his work will hopefully stand forever.

Everyone got to see the hard working, good time having, hard charging man he was. I was the only one who got to see him as "dad”. The man who was there for me every time the going got really tough, there for every school event, and taught me so much. If I tried list all of them the keyboard I'm typing on would break from overuse. I will tell you the most important thing he taught me was "what did you learn from it?". He showed me that there was a silver lining to everything that happens, you just have to find it sometimes, and to capture the learning experience at all times. Recognizing how to learn from experiences is the key to success that my father handed to me. Without this lesson and the many others, I do not believe I would be where I am in my life.

His work provided many once in a lifetime moments that he made sure I did not miss. He brought me to every single one of his job sites and was so proud to show me what he was working on. What always stood out though was how proud he was to introduce me to all his co-workers as his son. He would beam with enthusiasm every single time, and every single time it made me proud to call him dad.

Because of him, I have memories no one else will ever hold. When I was about 4 he taught me to "water a column" to help make the building grow. I'm sure you can figure it out, and that is a classic example of my father. When I was about 7 he asked me to help him at work. In the Metro Tech project, they needed to run network cables through the ceiling for about 75'. There was a problem though, they had already run the HVAC ducting and no one could fit in the space to feed the cable. He brought me in on a Sunday and tied the cable to the belt loop of my pants and had me crawl through because I was small enough to fit. That was only a small example of his resourcefulness. I was on Ellis Island during it's renovation countless times and saw parts of it that are still not open to the public. When my school sent my class on a trip to the Statue of Liberty my father talked the captain of the ferry boat they used into taking him out just so he could pull up alongside and wave to me from boat to boat while my whole class was in awe. Keep in mind, this was pre cell phone, so he had to coordinate the timing just so all by himself, again resourceful. I have been inside parts of Grand Central that will never be seen by the public, including looking down onto the main terminal through one of the holes in the ceiling for the lights making the constellations. You will not believe how high that actually is!

It is with great sadness that I write this, but it is helpful. It helps me to reflect on a life lived to the fullest, and made me sit back and learn from this experience. It made me learn just how special my father was. I always knew he was special and one of a kind, but all this reflection on him makes me even prouder to call him dad. This will not be the final lesson he teaches me I'm sure. I am also sure he is proud that I am still trying to learn from the experience, even this one.

Hugh Patrick Doherty II

Donations may be made in Hugh's memory to the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
http://mskcc.convio.net/goto/HPDohertySr

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