On March 31, 2006, Mrs. Mary Doran was buried at Congressional Cemetery with
full honors. In announcing her death, Col. Terry M. Lockard, Barracks Commanding Officer,
noted that Mrs. Doran had been a longtime surrogate mother and friend of the
Barracks, and had pretty much adopted the Barracks and our Marines. He also noted
that for more than a quarter of a century, she rarely, if ever, missed an Evening or
Sunset parade.
The funeral ceremony was
commanded by Colonel Lockard, and was attended by former and current Marine Barracks Marines,
including Drum Major Wolfe,
a former Drum Major of the Marine Band. Mrs. Doran's gravesite is approximately
80 feet away from John Philip Sousa's gravesite, which is shown in the pre-arrival
photo between the awaiting Marines and the small tree to their left (the headstone
that appears to be a bench).
We received the following photos from Pat Fontaine.
Accompanying the photos were several comments received from various former
Center House officers as follows:
Ron, thanks for passing this sad note. I, like many others, have many fond memories
of escorting Mrs Doran to her seat in 1 South.
S/F,
John (LtGen John Rhodes, USMC(Ret))
__________________________
Ron,
Thank you! I can still remember her cookies in the Guard House!!!
Semper Fi,
Mike (Wills)
__________________________
She was a most wonderful lady. During my 4 years at the Barracks I always looked
forward to greeting her, and her daughters, upon their arrival. Friday morning
she always brought "goodies" for the troops. While I was hospitalized at
Bethesda for about 9 months I could always count on a card every week. I also still
have a gift she gave my wife and myself upon our 25th wedding anniversary. She
certainly deserves a full honors memorial.
Semper Fi
John Darracott
__________________________
As the C. O. I had her as the guest of Honor for an evening parade with a reception
in my quarters beforehand. She was a great lady.
Semper Fidelis
Don (Myers)
by BT Productions
