Meet your neighbor Jean Dougherty. She grew up in Terre Haute where her dad, Ray “Snap” Painter, was a 4th-generation farmer and national champion trap shooter.
The Hancock-Henderson Quill, Inc.
Meet your neighbor Jean Dougherty. She grew up in Terre Haute where her dad, Ray “Snap” Painter, was a 4th-generation farmer and national champion trap shooter.
Her mother, Irene, was a hairdresser and substitute teacher. Jean has two sisters, Diana McKinnon (Terre Haute) and Betty Wright (Blandinsville) and two brothers, Joe Painter (Bloomington) and the late Jim Painter.
Jim was the youngest and passed away suddenly four years ago. Jean attended a one-room school in Terre Haute through 4th grade. Then the country schools consolidated in Terre Haute.
She attended Terre Haute H.S. her freshman year. That high school closed and then she attended La Harpe H.S. where she graduated in 1962.
Jean is a member of her class’s Reunion Committee. They just had their 63rd reunion in July. Jean skipped college and attended automation training in St. Louis.
In 1963 she married her high school sweetheart, Lynn Dougherty, in Tucson, AZ, where he was stationed in the U.S. Air Force. Lynn grew up in Lomax.
Jean and Lynn met at the Henderson County Fair. They were introduced by Jean’s late cousin, Marta (Kimble) Logan, whose boyfriend at the time was Lynn’s best friend.
They’ve been married 62 years. Jean started her 31-year federal career in Information Technology in 1963 at Davis-Monthan AFB in Tucson.
When Lynn was discharged in 1966 they moved to Chicago where Lynn attended DeVry Tech on the GI Bill.
Jean transferred to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in Chicago where she worked for 22 years. She was Chief of the Systems & Programming Branch.
In 1989 Jean and Lynn moved to Indianapolis where Lynn started his own business in vocational education training systems.
Jean transferred to Fort Benjamin Harrison in Indy and worked in various capacities there, oftentimes the only woman in the room.
Jean retired in 1994 as Chief of the Automation Management Division for the Defense Information Technology Services Organization.
President Clinton was down-sizing the federal workforce at that time and offered early retirement with a reduced annuity and a $25,000 bonus.
Jean grabbed it and never looked back! One of the highlights of her career was attending an awards ceremony and reception at the Pentagon in Washington D. C. for one of her employees.
Another was being in Washington D.C. on a special project during the presidential inauguration in 1973 and attending the inaugural parade.
After Jean retired she helped Lynn in his business until he retired in 1996. Then they moved near Branson on Table Rock Lake.
They bought a motor home and traveled the country for 10 years. They wintered in Corpus Christi, TX. Then they decided to move “back home” to be closer to family.
Jean and Lynn weren’t blessed with children, but Jean mentored younger family members and she was involved with youth programs during her federal career.
She helped establish the Corps of Engineers’ first Adopt-A-School program with Metropolitan High School in Chicago.
She was a volunteer for Big Sister for six years with Big Sisters of Central Indiana.
When asked what Jean’s family enjoys doing together she stated, “We have hosted family members on tours of Chicago, boating and fishing on Lake Michigan, a Bears Super Bowl party, Indy 500 races, pontoon rides on Table Rock Lake, shopping and shows in Branson, Texas Hold ‘em games.
“Now we get together with my sisters for fried chicken at Tink’s on Tuesdays. I must say that at this stage of our lives we enjoy the slower pace and wide-open spaces (after harvest!), relatively crime-free.”
She also stated, “during my Chicago years I worked in the Dirksen Federal Courthouse in the Loop. We were daily targets for Vietnam War protests and bomb threats.
“The Chicago 7 trial was held in my building (one of the most infamous trials in U.S. history). Our commanding officers wore civilian clothes to work to avoid being attacked on the street.
“On a positive note, I saw Barry Gibb (Bee Gees) get on an elevator during a copyright infringement trial and I saw Pope John Paul II address the crowd in Grant Park, the only Pope to visit Chicago.
“I was there for the ticker tape parade for the Apollo 11 astronauts. I also survived the victory parade for the Super Bowl Bears!”
Jean and Lynn moved to Blandinsville in 2004. They are members of Blandinsville Christian Church where Jean serves as the historian.
They celebrated the church’s 175th anniversary last year with a wonderful celebration.
Jean plays the Yamaha Clavinova for Sunday services once a month and for special services.
She is a trustee on the Blandinsville-Hire District Library Board of Trustees. She helps with the Summer Reading Program and Saturday Story Hours at the library.
She also helps write veteran’s stories for the annual Memorial Day program held by the Blandinsville-Good Hope-Sciota Veterans Memorial Committee.
She has lived and worked with military members. Veterans hold a special place in her heart. In addition to music, Jean’s hobbies include family history, writing and photography.
She occasionally submits articles to the Hancock-Henderson Quill. She credits the education she received at home and in the Terre Haute and La Harpe schools with much of her success in life.
She said that she had great teachers!