Obituary of Mary Jane Doeringer

Mary Jane Doeringer (nee Archbold) of Basking Ridge passed away on August 8, 2014 at King James Care Center in Chatham. Mrs. Doeringer was born in November of 1931 and grew up in Scotch Plains. She graduated from Scotch Plains High School and, later, the Drake School of business. In 1954 she married George Peter Doeringer and they moved into a house they had built for them in Berkeley Heights. They lived in that house for over twenty years and raised their four children there. While the children were young, Mary Jane became determined to travel abroad. She travelled by public transportation to a game show participation screening where she managed to be selected to play several early television game shows. She was quite successful on the shows. Among other prizes, she won kitchen appliances, a home movie camera, as well as a never-forgotten trip to England. At a time when it was not the norm for mothers to go out to work, Mrs. Doeringer entered the work force to help support the family. Over the years she held a number of different jobs. She worked as a school crossing guard, a township secretary, worked in the Berkeley Heights Recreation Department office for over 12 years, was employed as an executive secretary at Oakite Corporation, held a position in the office of Congressman Matthew Rinaldo, and also held a position at RJ Financial with a stock broker where she regularly was responsible for large transactions of money. Ms. Doeringer was very proud of her Scots-Irish ancestry and was an avid collector of Irish Dresden figurines. In 1991, she and her sister, Ellen Pfluger, travelled to Ireland to meet some of their cousins for the first time. She kept in touch with those relatives until her death. Ms. Doeringer is predeceased by her husband, George, as well as her eldest son, George Peter (Pete) Doeringer. She is survived by her son, David Cole of West New York, her daughters, Laura Ellen of Basking Ridge and Cathy Lynn Seidenstein of Jackson, as well as Cathy's husband, David, and their son, Marc Daniel. A memorial service will be held on August 16th at 11:00 am at the Somerset Hills Memorial Park at 95 Mount Airy Road, Basking Ridge. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the American Cancer Society. For more information please contact Gallaway and Crane Funeral Home at 908-766-0250, or to light an online condolence candle please visit our website at www.gcfuneralhome.com.