Obituary of Denis J Dooley, II
Denis J. Dooley, II, age 82, of Bernardsville, NJ, passed away on November 23 at Morristown Medical Center. Denis was born on October 5, 1937, in Roanoke, VA, to Denis and Mae (McGowan) Dooley.
Memorial visitation will be held on Monday, December 2nd from 2-4pm and from 6-8pm at Galloway and Crane Funeral Home in Basking Ridge, NJ. A Memorial Mass will be celebrated on Tuesday, December 3, 10:00am, at Our Lady of Perpetual Help Church in Bernardsville, NJ. He will be interred at the Holy Cross Cemetery Mausoleum in Basking Ridge, NJ. In lieu of flowers or visitation, please donate in Denis’s memory to Delbarton School, 230 Mendham Road, Morristown, NJ 07960 or to The Visiting Nurse Association of Somerset Hills, 200 Mount Airy Road, Basking Ridge, NJ 07920.
Denis and his family moved from Roanoke, VA to Staten Island, NY, where he graduated from St. Peter’s Prep. He attended Providence College in Rhode Island, where he graduated in 1958 as a commissioned officer through ROTC, and graduated from Georgetown University Law Center in 1961. After law school he entered military service with the US Army. Following his military service, Denis worked at a number of financial institutions supporting their legal and compliance departments. In 1984 he took a job with the State of New Jersey and worked as a Deputy Attorney General for Gaming Enforcement. Retiring from that position in 2002, but never one to sit still, he took on numerous jobs at different companies around Bernardsville.
Denis and his wife of 50 years, Kathleen (McMahon), married in Buffalo, NY, and settled in the West Brighton section of Staten Island. In 1971, they moved to Bernardsville, NJ, where they raised their daughter and two sons.
In and around Bernardsville, Denis immersed himself in community activities. He was a member of the Board of Directors of the Somerset Hills YMCA, Founder and Member of the Steering Committee of the Career Forum, Secretary and Treasurer of the Bernardsville Area Scholarship Committee, Coach of the Bernards High School Varsity Girls Basketball Team, Coordinator for the Bernardsville Recreation Commission Youth Basketball Program, Member of the Somerset County Emergency Management Commission, volunteer with the Somerset Hills Visiting Nurse Association, President and Founder of Bernardsville Baseball League, Member of the American Legion Post 484, Stirling, N.J., Member of the Knights of Columbus, Basking Ridge, N.J., President of the Somerset Hills Amateur Radio Club, Adult Altar server, lector and Eucharistic Minister at Our Lady of Perpetual Help, Bernardsville, N.J, and President and Member of the Parish Council. Denis has received many honors and accolades but he was most pleased by a smile and a warm thank you.
Denis was pre-deceased by his parents and sister Joanne Greeley. He is survived by his wife Katie, daughter Jennifer, sons Ryan (Lisa), and Benjamin (Pamela), his sister Marilyn Ball and his favorites, his grandchildren, Patrick, Colleen and Maya.
Denis would wish that everyone who suffers the loss of a loved one would experience the outpouring of love, affection and comfort that he and his family have received.