Obituaries

Patterson Resident to be Remembered

Services are slated for this afternoon and Saturday morning.

Beecher Funeral Home provided this obituary:

Thomas R. Van Doran, 61, of Patterson, passed away on Tuesday after a long battle with esophageal cancer.

Thomas was born on May 19, 1951 in the Bronx to the late Eugene and Margaret (Leahy) Van Doran. He graduated from Cardinal Hayes High School in 1969 and became a New York City firefighter in 1979. After a long courtship, Thomas married Elizabeth Gavaghen on Aug. 5, 1989 at St. Thomas Aquinas Church in Brooklyn.

Find out what's happening in Southeast-Brewsterwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Thomas retired from the New York City Fire Department as a battalion chief, after working (and studying) for 29 years, in August 2008. He loved golfing and playing the saxophone for his family. He also enjoyed being a pilot and flying his plane over Putnam Lake. Fortunately, he was a bad golfer and a great pilot—not the other way around.

He is survived by his loving wife Elizabeth, his son Thomas, and his daughter Samantha of Patterson; as well as his brother, Gene (Kathleen) of the Bronx; his sisters: Dorothy Van Doran (predeceased by Jerry Rubin) of Poughkeepsie; Ellen Weinberg (Howard) of Archbald, PA and Nora Staller (Robert) of the Bronx. He is also survived by many, many nieces and nephews.

Find out what's happening in Southeast-Brewsterwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at 11:30 a.m. Saturday at Sacred Heart Church in Patterson (414 Haviland Drive). Interment will follow at St. Lawrence O’Toole Cemetery in Brewster. Visitation will be from 4 to 8 p.m. Friday at Beecher Funeral Home (located on Putnam Avenue in Brewster, 845-279-3615).

In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made in memory of Thomas to:

The New York Firefighters Burn Center Foundation (www.nyffburncenter.com)

21 Asch Loop

Bronx NY, 10475 


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here