Mildred L. Doran

Mildred L. Doran devoted spouse, mother of six and grandmother of five died peacefully on May 6, 2022. She was born on July 1, 1926, in Newark NJ , the only daughter amongst three sons of the late John V. and Mary T. Sweeney. She attended St. Vincent’s Academy and trained as a ballet dancer until the outbreak of World War II. She was first introduced by her brother Jack to her late husband James J. Doran. The initial years of their courtship were conducted by letters exchanged while Jim served in the Navy in Attu and later, Okinawa. They were married on April 27, 1951 and lived in Bloomfield for most of their married lives until Mildred’s death.
As a sixty year parishioner of St. Thomas the Apostle Church, she was a member of the Rosary Society. A skilled amateur painter, she shared her love of watercolor and oil painting with members of Ed Havas’s watercolor class in Montclair, the Bloomfield Art League and the Livingston Art League. She worked for many years in the business office of Montclair State University. However, the focus of most of her life was her home and family.
She was a creative force of nature and in her role as a mother she was at once, a nurse, tutor, nutritionist, chef, gardener , and spiritual leader. Her snug home was a tumble of paintings in progress, Jersey beefsteak tomatoes from her garden and loosely arranged fresh cut lilacs. She was possessed of a lilting soprano voice and always had a Gershwin tune handy for any occasion. Singing at the table was encouraged.
She was predeceased by her parents, her late husband and her brothers John V. Sweeney and his wife Cecelia, Robert L. Sweeney and his wife Rosemary and her sister in law Angelina DeCordova Sweeney. She is survived by her six children Kevin J. Doran and his partner Lynn Gonias, Maureen T. Keogh and her husband Eugene L. Keogh, Terence P. Doran, Jane Ellen Regan and her husband Richard F. X. Regan, Patricia E. Doran, and Brendan C. Doran and his wife Rebecca. She was the adored Nana of her grandchildren Owen J. Keogh, Patrick D. Keogh, James F. X. Regan, Aidan F. X. Doran and Kelly Jane Doran. She is further survived by her brother Richard B. Sweeney and many nieces and nephews, too numerous to count here. A special thank you to Andrea William and Melanie Scully who cared for Mildred with love and compassion in the years preceding her death.
Visitation will be held at O’Boyle Funeral home in Bloomfield on May 10, 2022 between the hours of 4 and 8PM. A Mass of Christian burial will be held at St. Thomas the Apostle Church on May 11, 2022 at 9:30 Am. For further details contact www.oboylefuneralhome.com

In lieu of flowers, please feel free to make a donation to Mount St. Dominic Academy (Caldwell, NJ) or Seton Hall Preparatory School (West Orange, NJ).                                                                                                             Ar d heis De’ go raibh a hanam dilis.