Obituary of Buol Joanne Dougherty

Resident of Los Altos Hills
Heaven gained a beautiful angel today. Our beloved mother's blessed life ended in her Los Altos home surrounded by her loving family on April 18, 2016.
Buol Joanne Dougherty was born Sept. 28, 1930 in Chicago. At the age of two, Mom moved with her mother, Buol Burke, to the Hillsborough area. She attended St. Catherine's Elementary School, Notre Dame High School, was an esteemed graduate of UC Berkeley and a proud member of the Delta Gamma Sorority. Mom, always ambitious in her endeavors, attended Hastings Law School but traded in a law degree for her true calling, family life.
On January 29, 1955, Mom married our Dad, Donald Dougherty of Hillsborough, and eventually moved to Los Altos where she raised nine children. She was a dedicated and loving mother, driving carpool, attending countless sports games, plays, swim meets, tennis and volleyball matches over two decades. She also worked at the Stanford Bookstore for 16 years where she made many dear and lifelong friends. In 1982, Mom became "Nana" to her first of 23 grandchildren and in 2013, became an adored "Great-Nana". Her children, grandchildren and three great grandchildren gave her a tremendous amount of joy.
Besides being an extraordinary matriarch, Mom was a devoted Catholic, attending daily Mass for the past 25 years. Mom was also an avid sports fan - whether watching her beloved Bay Area teams or cheering on her grandchildren. She loved her Cal Bears and was a true 49er Faithful, having enjoyed season tickets with her kids since 1970. Giving a nod to her favorite NFL team and proving herself young at heart on her 80th birthday, she bought herself a brand new, shiny red Corvette with the license plate: 9RZNANA. During the spring and summer, Mom was just as passionate for her San Francisco Giants. Her claim to fame was being one of the first two female Balldudettes in Giants history. She absolutely loved Ballduding with her children spanning 17 years until her "forced" retirement at a home plate ceremony when she was 80 years young.
When Mom wasn't rooting on one of her sports teams, she was traveling the world, another passion she shared with her children and grandchildren. Mom loved exploring all types of destinations but seemed most enchanted with coastal locales. She loved her quick and easy overnight getaways at the Ritz Half Moon Bay where she was a cherished guest.
Simply put, Mom was beautiful, gracious, loving, and fun and she will be greatly missed by her beloved family: Don Dougherty, Don Dougherty, Jr., Cindy (Doug) Kirk, Karen Dougherty, Sandy (Art) Antony, Kathy (Mike) Reickerd, Mary (Rick) Apecechea, Julie (Rob) LoGrasso, Mike (Julie) Dougherty, Laura (Zach) Elliott and their families.
Friends and family are invited to attend Mom's Rosary at Spangler Mortuary in Los Altos on Sunday, April 24th at 6:00pm (viewing 5:00pm - 6:00pm), and her Life Celebration Mass at St. William Catholic Church in Los Altos on Monday, April 25th at 10:00am.




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