Obituary of Richard E Doremus

Richard Ellsworth Doremus died peacefully on May 21, 2020 at age 95 at Fellowship Village, following several strokes. Known as Rich, he had an equally rich life beginning in Passaic, NJ on December 12, 1924. Rich was the son of R. Ellsworth Doremus and Helen Krouse Doremus. He was predeceased by his wife of 57 years, Sharon McLean Doremus and his sister Elizabeth Doremus Fischer. Rich attended Montclair Academy and graduated from Avon Old Farms School in 1943, after which he served in the U.S. Navy as an Aviation Ordnanceman Second Class, an expert skeet shooter from an aircraft carrier and teacher of the likes of Ted Williams, famous Boston Red Sox baseball player. After the war, Rich pursued his college education at Pratt Institute while working in the family business, Krouse-Doremus Foundry, manufacturing tapping equipment for the beer industry. Later known as Golden Gate Manufacturing Company, Rich kept the family tradition alive as its President, and he continued to develop his uncanny ability to fix, take apart and restore anything mechanical, while sporting a bow tie because it did not get caught in the machinery. Rich was an outstanding sportsman, having learned the art and respect of hunting and fishing from his grandfather at Blooming Grove Hunting and Fishing Club. He pursued this interest while at Avon Old Farms as a member of the Nimrod Club and later at the Ausable Club in Keene Valley, NY. All through his life, Rich followed his family’s dedication to community service. He succeeded his father on the board of the Passaic General Hospital and the East Ridgelawn Cemetery. He was later as one of the longest serving Presidents at Morristown Field Club. As an active tennis, platform tennis and golfer, during his lifetime, Rich was a member of the Upper Montclair Golf Club, Morris County Golf Club, The Morristown Field Club, The Harrisburg Country Club, Somerset Hills Country Club, NJ and Lemon Bay Golf Club, Placida, FL . Rich leaves behind two daughters, Josephine Doremus Perkins and Sara Doremus Swartz, along with their loving families, including John M. Perkins, Jr. Gary R. Swartz, Abigail and Charlotte Perkins, and Elizabeth and Kyle Swartz. Rich’s generous and creative spirit will be missed by everyone he knew. In lieu of flowers, donations in his memory to the cause of choice during this challenging pandemic would be greatly appreciated by the family.