{"id":48587,"date":"2025-11-22T14:22:13","date_gmt":"2025-11-22T14:22:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/48587\/"},"modified":"2025-11-22T14:22:13","modified_gmt":"2025-11-22T14:22:13","slug":"inspirational-staten-island-woman-of-achievement-who-turned-disability-into-advocacy-dies-at-91","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/48587\/","title":{"rendered":"Inspirational Staten Island Woman of Achievement, who turned disability into advocacy, dies at 91"},"content":{"rendered":"

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. \u2014 Dorothy Doran was in her mid-20\u2019s, and already a mother, when she started to lose her vision. She did not know it at the time, would not find out for many decades, but she had Stargardt disease, a rare condition caused by a genetic defect that deteriorates vision. Doran would eventually become legally blind. <\/p>\n

Doran, who established the Staten Island Center for Independent Living, died on Nov. 19 at the age of 91. <\/p>\n

Born in 1934, Doran was a fifth-generation Staten Islander who grew up in West Brighton and Rosebank. She was the only child of Francis X. Monahan, who worked for the health department, and Marie (n\u00e9e Treanor) Monahan, who worked as an administrator in the city courts.<\/p>\n

\"DorothyDorothy Doranfamily archive<\/p>\n

Doran attended Curtis High School, where she was friendly with Jeb Magruder, who would later become an aide for President Nixon and land himself in prison for his involvement in Watergate. <\/p>\n

After graduating from Curtis, Doran became a dental hygienist and worked in Manhattan. <\/p>\n

She met her husband, James Doran, an attorney who was active in the Democratic party, and the pair married in 1954. <\/p>\n

\"DorothyDorothy Doran and James Doranfamily archive<\/p>\n

Doran excelled as a homemaker, raising four children. \u201cHer vision was deteriorating, so it was not easy for her,\u201d said her son, also named James Doran. \u201cIt was quite a challenge. My father was often in Albany, on the road, or having long hours as an attorney. But she managed it. She was a real trooper.\u201d<\/p>\n

She was an active volunteer, lending her time to Knights of Columbus and Girls Scouts of America. She was a den mother for the Cub Scouts and was active in the Blessed Sacrament parish. <\/p>\n

She loved Staten Island, and her family resided first in Arrochar, then Westerleigh, before moving to Randall Manor. <\/p>\n

\"DorothyDorothy Doranfamily archive<\/p>\n

When she was in her 40s, Doran went back to school to study social work. She obtained a Master\u2019s degree from St. John\u2019s University. <\/p>\n

In 1982, at the age of 48, Doran launched the Staten Island Center for Independent Living<\/a> in New Brighton. At the time, it was the only institution of its kind on the island. <\/p>\n

According to its website, the organization is \u201cthe only comprehensive multi-service provider in the borough that is primarily staffed and governed by individuals who have personal experience with disability. It is the borough\u2019s only not-for-profit agency providing services to individuals of all ages and all levels of disability.\u201d<\/p>\n

Staten Island Center for Independent Living serves those that are vision impaired, hearing impaired and mobility impaired. Its services and advocacy range far and wide. <\/p>\n

\"DorothyDorothy Doranfamily archive<\/p>\n

\u201cThey teach braille and American Sign Language,\u201d James Doran said. \u201cThey teach people the basics\u2014how to cook and use a computer. They arrange events and seminars. If you want to start a business, they help you identify where to get a grant and they help you write that grant. They work with the spouses and family of people with disabilities to help them understand their role. If you come in looking for something that they don\u2019t have, they will find it for you.\u201d<\/p>\n

Doran served as the organizations\u2019s executive director for 28 years. \u201cShe was mild-mannered,\u201d James Doran said. \u201cShe had a soft touch. Sometimes she made hard decisions but she managed them with finesse and grace.\u201d<\/p>\n

She was aided by her guide dogs, all Labradors. The first was named Bessie, followed by Clover, and finally Sally. \u201cThe dogs allowed her to move around independently, not only around the neighborhood but to go on trains and travel to Manhattan and beyond,\u201d James Doran said. <\/p>\n

\"DorothyDorothy Doranfamily archive<\/p>\n

In 1988, for her work, Doran was named a Staten Island Advance Woman of Achievement. <\/p>\n

\u201cShe was searching for a world where people with disabilities could have every possible opportunity,\u201d James Doran said. \u201cShe was involved with that until the end. She always supported people, even in her assisted living home, she gave people advice\u2014where to get a cane or where to get special eyewear, who to speak to, where to go.\u201d<\/p>\n

In her free time, Doran loved classic movies and enjoyed going to Broadway shows. Even though she couldn\u2019t see them, she could hear them, and that was enough. <\/p>\n

\u201cShe was an amazing woman,\u201d said her friend, Al Mondello. \u201cShe was probably the most inspirational person I\u2019ve ever met. She made a positive difference in everyone\u2019s lives. When you were around her, you felt special.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"DorothyDorothy Doranfamily archive<\/p>\n

Doran is survived by her children, James Doran, Brian Doran, Eileen Doran Heidel, and Erin Doran Reid, and three grandchildren.<\/p>\n

If you purchase a product or register for an account through a link on our site, we may receive compensation. By using this site, you consent to our User Agreement<\/a> and agree that your clicks, interactions, and personal information may be collected, recorded, and\/or stored by us and social media and other third-party partners in accordance with our Privacy Policy.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. \u2014 Dorothy Doran was in her mid-20\u2019s, and already a mother, when she started to…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":48588,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[39],"tags":[9,24,63,134,136,135],"class_list":["post-48587","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-staten-island","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-city","tag-nyc","tag-staten-island","tag-staten-island-headlines","tag-staten-island-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48587","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=48587"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48587\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/48588"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=48587"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=48587"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=48587"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}