DOHERTY , Mary Earthel Doherty

Mary Doherty of Wallaceburg passed away peacefully with her family by her side on Friday, August 15, 2025, at the age of 103, just five days short of her 104th birthday.

Mary was predeceased by her first husband Clarence Lumley (1943), second husband George McKay (1974), third husband Vern Doherty (2008), and her son Stuart Lumley (2021). Beloved mother of Phillip (Sandy) Lumley, stepson Sean (Helena) Doherty and Pat (Cathy) Doherty, and daughter-in-law Jean Lumley. Special grandmother, great-grandmother and great-great-grandmother of many.

She was predeceased by her siblings Bertha Chrysler, Irene Falkener, Clarence Youngs, Andy Youngs, Myron Youngs, John Youngs and Mable Vanderveen. Mary was the daughter of the late Joseph and Beatrice Youngs.

Mary went to school at Bethel in the late 1920s. Her family was very poor. She went to work at 15 and married Clarence Lumley on the Bickford Line in 1937, becoming a widow at 21 with two boys. Times were very hard, and Mary worked at many places and raised chickens and ducks with her in-laws. Later, she married Verne Doherty and shared thirty years together.

Mary enjoyed crafts and collecting treasures at yard sales while living in Wallaceburg. She loved the company of friends in her little church and wrote many poems over the years. She stopped driving at age 99 but remained independent in her apartment on Montgomery Drive until 101, when she moved into Levante Retirement Home on Duke Street in Wallaceburg. She became known by everyone there and especially enjoyed visits from the local firemen—whom she knew by name—and “adopted” an 85-year-old resident named Ann as her daughter.

She will be remembered for many things by those who knew her and for her vibrant presence as a resident on Duke Street.

Funeral Details:
Family and friends are invited to a funeral service on Tuesday, August 19, 2025, at 11:00 a.m. at Steadman Brothers Funeral Home, Brigden, with visitation starting at 10:00 a.m., followed by a graveside service at Moore Union Cemetery.

Donations:
Sympathy may be expressed through donations to Faith Baptist Church, Wallaceburg. Cheques only please.

Memories and notes of condolence may be shared at Funeral Home Not Listed.