Generations of local dignitaries have taken their last ride from Mickey Doyle’s funeral home on Maple Avenue in Morristown.
On Monday, it was Mickey’s turn.
Fire trucks glistened in front of the Doyle Funeral Home and a bagpiper played outside Assumption Church, in a crisp autumn scene would have been quite familiar to Michael A. Doyle .
Doyle died peacefully at home on Oct. 18, 2014. He was 84.
The funeral director had carried on the business started exactly one century ago by his father, Michael A. Doyle Sr., according to the obituary from the family. The son would become president of the New Jersey State Board of Mortuary Science.
“He was a gentleman and a gentle man who will truly be missed by all,” the obituary stated.
Born and raised in Morristown, Mickey Doyle served in the Army during the Korean War and was a volunteer with the Washington Engine Company #1 of the Morristown Fire Department.
The 1948 graduate of Morristown’s Bayley High School was inducted into the Bayley Ellard Hall of Fame.
At the University of Notre Dame (’53) Doyle captained the golf team. He was an avid member of the Spring Brook Country Club in Morris Township–his home town for 50 years–and he was club champion in 1951.
Doyle also was a former member of the NJ State Seniors Association and the Metropolitan Golf Association. And he coached basketball and baseball at the Delbarton School in the early 1950s.
He continued his collegiate association through membership in the Notre Dame Club of North Jersey. Other affiliations included the New Jersey Exempt Fireman’s Association; Knights of Columbus George Washington Council 359, third degree with 62 years of service; American Legion Post 95 of Morristown and the Sierra Club.
Additionally, he served on the Morristown Recreation Commission, and was official starter of the Morris County St. Patrick’s Parade in 2012, the same year he received his 30-year pin from the Loyola House of Retreats.
Doyle is predeceased by his parents, Marguerite and Michael Doyle; brothers Hanley, Lawrence and Buddy; son Edward J. Moore II; and nephews Mike, Sam (Cheri) and Roger.
He is survived by his wife of 55 years, Lois Ann (Evans) Doyle; children Thomas F. Moore III and wife Patricia of Seffner, FL; Michael A. Doyle III and wife Sherylin of Blairstown; Marguerite LeBoeuf and husband Brian of Basking Ridge; and Kathleen Sullivan and husband Ed of Morris Township.
He also is survived by grandchildren Christopher (Sarah), Thomas, and Michael Moore; Michael (Cristy), Katie and Tim Doyle; Michael and Emily LeBoeuf; and Andrew, Maggie and Matthew Sullivan; and great- grandchildren Liam, Emaree and Macklin Moore; as well as his niece, Princey Cherello (Michael), and nephew, Larry Doyle (Maureen) and many great nieces, great nephews and friends.
In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made to the Wounded Warrior Project, PO Box 758517, Topeka, KS 66675 or to the Carmelite Monastery, 189 Madison Ave., Morristown, NJ 07960.
