Daniel Dougherty

May 8, 1922 -

Mar 20, 2020

Daniel Joseph Dougherty was born on May 8, 1922, in Butte, Mont. He was the son of Catherine Gleason and Joseph Henry Dougherty and older brother to Mary Catherine, Margaret Emilda, James Edward and Hugh John Dougherty. He died peacefully on March 20, 2020.

His father worked on the Great Northern Railroad, where he instilled in Dan a lifelong interest in hard work and all things railroad. Dan attended Catholic school in the Irish section of the mining town renown for copper, soot and cinder. He excelled at math, middle distance running and Latin. Dan served in the European Theatre during World War II as a forward observer in Patton's Army.

After the war, Dan attended Montana State College, now MSU-Bozeman, participating in ROTC and graduating with a degree in engineering. He was later commissioned an officer into the Army and the Corps of Engineers. He soon married Barbara Lou Kitt of Missoula, Mont., and embarked on the journey that brought them to Alaska in the early 1950s.

He eventually left the Army and began his long employment as engineer for a growing construction company. With Dan as chief engineer, M-B Contracting Company was key in many well-known projects around Alaska from 1950s-1980s to include: Nike Missile sites, JBER streets, New Glenn Highway from Anchorage to Eklutna, Knik River Bridges, Muldoon Interchange, Minnesota Bypass, Unocal building, Alaska Mutual Bank, Anchorage International Airport and Terminal, much of the Seward, Sterling and Parks highways and more.

Dan served as president of Alaska Society of Professional Engineers, earned the Silver Beaver award for his volunteer work with Scouting, was a member of the Knights of Columbus, Chief of Timing for the X-C World Cup event, developed timing for local high school and USSA races with Anchorage Nordic Ski Club, where they went from a Ford van with card tables and stopwatches to the buildings, electronic wands and computers in use today.

One of his primary passions, in addition to volunteering for many family activities, was cross-country skiing, which he did nearly every day in the winter, and carried through into his mid-80s, forming a strong inspiration for his children, grandchildren and tight circle of friends. He was also deeply spiritual, being involved with the Catholic church throughout his long life.

At home, Dan and Barbara raised nine children and enjoyed occasional camping, outings, Saturday night barbecue burgers and "the Cabin." His favorite relaxing activities were to lead the construction of a log cabin on Irene Lake, to include a sauna and steps down to a dock and serene waterfront. At the end of work, he loved to sail around the lake in his Hobie 12 and catalogue the activities of all the geese, grebes and ducks.

Dan is preceded in death by his wife of 60 years, Barbara; sisters, Sr. Mary Catherine and Margaret; and brothers, Jimmy and Hugh. Dan is survived by his children, Kathleen Worthley (Don), Christine, Dan (Angela), Pat (Kathleen), Tim (Mari), Tom (Judy), James (Janet), Paul (Cindy) and Brendan; and grandkids, Devin, Nolan, Riley, Joe, Emily, Tucker, Erik, Andrew, Sam, Aaron, Mary and Zeb.

Dan was an eminently good, kind, wise, gentle man and a fine engineer.

A Funeral Mass will be held on Saturday, Aug. 14, 2021, at 10 a.m., at St. Patrick's Church on Muldoon Road in Anchorage.