REST IN PEACE
Donald Anthony Dohr passed away suddenly and peacefully at home from complications of non-smoker lung cancer, January 30, 2017. He was born on April 10, 1933, the oldest child of Anthony Arnold and Marion McCabe Dohr. His parents and his sister, Charlotte Alice Dohr, preceded him in death.
Surviving are his loving wife, Arlene, and his brothers, Ronald, Thomas (Patricia Lee) and John and his sister-in-law, Margaret Dohr; fourteen nieces and nephews and many grandnieces and grandnephews.
He completed training for the priesthood at Quigley Preparatory Seminary in Chicago and St. Mary of the Lake Seminary in Mundelein, Illinois, and was ordained May 7, 1959. He served as a diocesan priest for eighteen years in Waukegan, Chicago and Chicago Heights, Illinois in the following parishes: St. Joseph, St. Clement, Precious Blood, St. Casimir, St. Sylvester and Annunciation, most of these parishes in Hispanic areas of the archdiocese. While at Mundelein, he acquired a proficiency in Spanish which aided his parish work, as well as working with the Christian Family Movement, Cursillo, Pre Cana and Diaconate training programs.
In 1977, he left the active priesthood and married Arlene Maag on March 28, 1978. He began his career in Human Resources management at Gould in Niles, Illinois, and continued with Raytheon Company in Chicago before a job transfer to Raytheon's facility at White Sands Missile Range brought him to Las Cruces in 1988.
While still working at Raytheon, he took training to become a bilingual mediator for the El Paso Dispute Resolution Center and also trained to become a child custody/visitation mediator and began working part-time for the Third Judicial District Court. He also did this type of mediation for the Sixth Judicial District in Deming. He later trained for child abuse and neglect cases which he mediated in Silver City for the Sixth Judicial District, as well as open adoptions, which he mediated in the Third Judicial District. Don also had training for EEOC and Special Education cases for the State of New Mexico Department of Education. After retirement from Raytheon in 1999, Don continued mediation in both Judicial Districts. He gained great satisfaction from his bilingual mediation work.
Don was a lector and usher at St. Albert Newman Parish. He was active in the Southern New Mexico Human Resources Management Society. He served for six years on the Board of the local United Way Chapter, as well as being a very active volunteer for the Friends of Branigan Library helping his wife manage the fundraising monthly booksales and the bookstore. Don served on the Labor/Management Relations Board for the City of Las Cruces and DACC Career Placement Advisory Board. He was active in the Las Aguilas Spanish Toastmasters and was a Spanish Lay Presider trainer for the diocese. Don was a volunteer at Mesilla Valley Hospice and was a bilingual medical interpreter at St. Luke's Clinic.
In 2003, Arlene and Don received the Sunshine Community Service Award from the Border Book Festival in recognition of their work for the Friends of Branigan Library.
Memorial Mass will be offered at St. Albert the Great Newman Center Parish, 2615 South Solano, Las Cruces at 11 a.m. Saturday, February 25, 2017.
Memorial gifts may be made to: Mesilla Valley Hospice, 299 East Montana, Las Cruces, New Mexico 88005.