John Millard Doherty
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John Millard Doherty was born at St. John's Hospital in Santa Monica, CA on June 12, 1964, and died at St. John's Hospital in Camarillo, CA on April 29, 2022. He was 57 years old.
Johnny was the youngest of eight children who were raised in Pacific Palisades, CA. His parents were James Alan Doherty and Catherine Elizabeth (Wisda) Doherty. He was born with Downs Syndrome. The parish priest advised his parents to leave him at the hospital to be institutionalized. They ignored his advice. With the guidance of another parish family (whose son Hank was also Downs) they found their way.
John attended the Exceptional Childrens Center in Pacific Palisades. It was run by the wonderful Ruth Haldeman, whose son Fred was also Downs. He went to Mary Lou Smith's summer camp at St. Martins Parish in Brentwood. When he was about 11 our parents were convinced to send him to St. Vincent's School in Santa Barbara, which was run by a Catholic nun who was a friend of Uncle Pat Doherty, S.J. It was the right decision. John learned to read and write, to do math, to speak clearly, and to take care of himself. He participated in the Special Olympics for over a decade, in Los Angeles and in Santa Barbara. We visited him often, and he always came home for holidays.
When Mom and Dad died in 1981 and 1982, John became the center of the family. We gravitated to him, and he kept us together.
John graduated from St. Vincent's in 1985, and for the last 37 years he has lived in two group homes in Oxnard. For ten years he lived with Callie Ward, and for the last 27 he lived at the Johnson Guest Home, run by Joe Johnson and Rhetta Wilson. He had many close friends in the Johnson Guest Home and at the The Arc of Ventura County, where he was loved by his peers and the staff alike. At Arc they knew him by various names (depending on what phase he was in): Johnny-Be-Good, Michael Andrews, Marty McFly, etc. He worked for some time in the light assembly program of the workshop, but in his later years he preferred to volunteer or simply play around. He knew how to use Google to search online, and he'd help people at the library use the computer. He loved bowling and gambling. It didn't matter if he won; just pulling the handle on a slot machine brought him great joy.
He is survived by all of his siblings and their partners: Tim, Chris (Allison), Kitty (Eddy Salata), Sarah (John Byrne), Ted (Nancy), Joe (Velda), and David. He also has many nieces and nephews: Ian Doherty, Alana Guerin (Mack), Alyssa Salata, Christy Conlon (Tim), Amanda Joslin (John), Ryan Byrne (Shannon), Shannon Byrne, Colin Byrne, Sebastian Doherty, Austin Doherty, Connor Doherty, Gerard Doherty, and Jim Doherty. He has multiple grand-niblings: Haley Lydiate, Olivia Joslin, Emma Joslin, Jack Byrne, Ava Byrne, Quinn Byrne, and Rosie Guerin. Close family friends who have known him since childhood include Krista Carlson, Lisa Alexander, Cecil Clayford, and Jenny Lerew. He was predeceased by his grandparents Mildred "Mim" Wisda Johnson, James Wisda, Frank P. Doherty, and Sarah Patten Doherty.
As a child John was a chaos agent, a force of nature, a film and TV buff, a Beatles fan, a prankster, and an athlete. He was simultaneously self-involved and loving. He would sit three feet in front of the television to watch The Three Stooges, but if you asked him to move a little he would. He slept everywhere, and it wasn't unusual to find him in a sleeping bag on the floor in the morning. He was a physical daredevil whose face was a mosaic of dirt and scrapes. He was a terrible flirt, and charmed his way into a lot of hugs. He readily introduced himself to strangers. John had no regrets.
Throughout his life, John's favorite mode of conversation was to re-enact a moment from a movie or television show. He had favorite lines from Psycho, The Shining, Frankenstein, Bride of Frankenstein, Dracula, Godzilla, and the catalogs of the Three Stooges and Little Rascals. He was particularly fond of scenes in which Norman Bates wielded a knife, or Jack Torrance swung an axe. John memorized the monologue of Maleva the Gypsy from "The Wolf Man," that begins, "Even a man who is pure of heart," and he would recite it at the drop of a hat. These moments became our family's "Darmok and Jalad at Tanagra," a shorthand of our mythology and experience.
If you got him started on Back to the Future or Star Trek, you would see his rich fantasy life. For a few years John insisted on being called Marty McFly. In his 2013 Individual Service Plan he stated that he would like to learn to drive a DeLorean, and he signed the ISP, "Marty." According to legend, John met Thomas F. (Tom) Wilson, who played Biff, on a flight from LA to Chicago. Mr. Wilson was surprised that John recognized him, and John kept him talking for the flight. John once signed an Easter Card "Love, Merritt Butrick as David." (Mr. Butrick played Captain Kirk's son David in Star Trek II and III, and in Star Trek: The Next Generation.) A rich fantasy life.
John's great gifts to our family and to our community were to expand the definition of "appropriate behavior" and to teach us empathy. He got away with a lot. When Sarah's bouquet fell short of her bridesmaids, John raced across the floor and grabbed it for himself. We laughed. (He gave it back for a do-over.) As a consequence of his insanity we could be more relaxed ourselves, and we became more accepting of and sympathetic to the frailties of others.
To be very clear, we did not feel sorry for Johnny. He was not afflicted. He was different - sometimes brilliantly different - and through him we came to embrace the differences in others. He lived happily, with an open heart and a well of mischief. He taught us "the greatest thing you'll ever learn is just to love, and be loved in return."
Visitation is on Friday, July 15, 2022 at 10:30am at Garcia Mortuary in Oxnard, 629 South A Street, followed by a memorial service at 11:00am. Burial will be on Saturday July 16, 2022 at 12 noon at Holy Cross Cemetery in Culver City, 5835 W. Slauson Avenue.
For map, directions to ceremony locations, to sign the family's online guest book, share stories, and post pictures please visit www.garciamortuaryoxnard.com and click on John's name below "Obituaries."
Funeral arrangements are under the direction of the family owned and operated Garcia Mortuary, 629 South "A" Street, Oxnard, California. For further information please call (805) 486-9148.