Obituary of Jean M. Doyle
Jean Marie Williamson Doyle died Tuesday, Dec. 27. She was 91.
Born in 1925, Jean lived a life of faith, patriotism, humility and gratitude for simple pleasures typical of the Greatest Generation.
After losing her mother, Margaret Lawler Williamson, at 8 years old, Jean was raised by a loving and generous father, Earl Williamson, whom Jean always remembered whistling reassuringly downstairs as she and her anxious siblings fell asleep. He adored Jean, Jane, Eddie, Dorothy, and Earl Jr., and fulfilled his late wife’s commitment to their Catholic upbringing by sending them to Holy Family School. Jean was ever reverent and affectionate about her years at Holy Family, glowing with a quiet pride even in her late life when she'd reluctantly boast of earning a 90 on the chemistry regents under the tutelage of the formidable Fr. Davey. While a student at HF, she began to study the saxophone, an instrument she would play in the Auburn Civic Band until she was 87. Holy Family was also where she met her group of lifelong friends who nicknamed her “Jolly.” The “club” met regularly for eight decades for meals and music, to celebrate weddings and births, and to grieve together for lost children, spouses and each other.
Her life’s greatest pleasure and pride was Bob Doyle, whom she married in 1948. The two shared a passion for music, buying a piano before any other household item, and a devotion to their faith. Jean never tired of accompanying him to his gigs, sitting unobtrusively in a seat closest to the piano. They had 13 children: Mark, Lisa, Chunky, Laura, Beth, Gretchen, Susi, Willy, Brendan, Jeanne, Michael, Tara, and Amy. They lived in Bob’s childhood home on Holley Street. Jean loved the modest house, and was undeterred by its small size when she welcomed any “poor souls” to live there until their luck turned.
Jean’s faith was her most valued possession and she devoted her life to passing that legacy onto her children, sending six of them to Bishop Ludden in Syracuse after Mount Carmel closed. There were lean years when Bob and Jean flew by the seats of their pants, but the tuition for catholic school was always paid. Jean’s faith was most demonstrated when she buried three of her adult children: Chunky in 1994, Willy in 2006 and Laura in 2009. Never questioning the fairness of such losses, she only prayed the more for them in her rosaries, to which she devoted four hours a day right up until her stroke last year.
After Bob’s passing in 1997, Jean found a second wind in her role as babysitter of the last of her 25 grandchildren, with whom she would sing hits from the ‘40s and play hand after hand of “Old Maid.”
A modest woman who rarely bought anything for herself, Jean nonetheless had a recognizable style well into her 80s with her epic blonde hair and signature berets. She loved to wear bright colored shoe-laces and scarves, and lipstick in a happy shade of red or orange whether she was going to her third shift at Auburn Correctional Facility or Sunday morning Mass.
Jean knew how to live. She made sure that every day she prayed, practiced her saxophone, ate dessert, and took a nap. She would delay washing the dishes so she could hear one more song, read a poem out loud, or watch “How Green Was My Valley” for the tenth time. She will be missed by her family for her girlish laugh and peppy step, her soft hands and infinite compassion.
She is survived by her children: Mark (Liz) Doyle, Lisa (Delores) Doyle, Beth (Jack) Curran, Gretchen (John) Doyle, Susi (Bruce) Doyle Larson, Brendan (Mitsuko) Doyle, Jeanne (Gary) Buckles, Michael (Heather) Doyle, Tara (Bill) Simmonds, and Amy (Bibi) Doyle; her sister, Jane Carr and brother Ed Williamson; 25 grandchildren; several nieces, nephews, and great-grandchildren.
Calling hours will be held at Farrell’s Funeral Service, Inc., 84 South St., Auburn on Monday, Jan. 2 from 4 to 7 p.m. A Mass of Christian burial is on Tuesday, Jan. 3 at 10 a.m. in Holy Family Church, with the Pastor Reverend John Gathenya as celebrant. Interment will be in St Joseph’s Cemetery.
