James Michael Doyle's Obituary
The force of nature that was Jim Doyle exited this life on Friday January 31, 2020 after a two-year battle with cancer. He passed peacefully at his Edgewater home with his beloved wife Donna and “Bella the wonder dog” at his side. Jim was known for his love of corny jokes, crazy hats, and the Boston Red Sox. Spending time with Jim was never dull, and usually involved cramming too many activities into too little time. Family and friends who traveled with Jim invariably collapsed in groaning exhaustion as he planned the next day’s itinerary.
Jim was born on September 16, 1952 to John and Elizabeth Doyle, in Bellerose, New York. Ignoring his position as the middle child of five siblings, Jim somehow managed to become the undisputed boss. Whether organizing stickball games or recruiting the neighborhood kids to construct forts from discarded Christmas trees, Jim was always in charge.
In high school, Jim joined the track team and, ever the trendsetter, he was the first guy at school to start wearing his Adidas running shoes all the time. Jim organized dances at the local parish center and, if the cleanup was going slowly, he would rouse the sleepy crew to action by cranking up the William Tell overture on the speaker system. In his junior year, Jim served as head counselor in a summer program for intellectually disabled children who were institutionalized at a local psychiatric facility. Jim was so upset by the conditions at the facility that he gave up his Saturdays to organize games for the children in the hospital gym. Jim’s interest in the welfare of people with special needs continued into his twenties, when he volunteered to be the “big brother” for a young man with cognitive impairment. The “little brother’ was almost as tall as he was, but Jim would take his brother by the hand without embarrassment, and lead him on excursions to ball games, parks and zoos.
Jim graduated from SUNY Albany in 1974 and began work in the printing industry. He worked for a number of firms in New York, Connecticut and even in Ireland, where he supervised a printing plant in the town of Bray. While he was there, Jim frequented a Dublin disco where he became known as “the yank in the white John Travolta suit.” On his return, Jim went to work as a market research manager for Webcraft (now Vertis Communications) in New Jersey, and it was through that job that he met the love of his life, Donna Davis. Jim said he knew Donna was “the one” when he showed up at her office in Dallas wearing a ten gallon hat and Donna did not immediately have him thrown out. They were married in 1985 and settled in Edgewater in 1986. Their first son Michael was born in 1988, followed by Brian in 1990. It was then that Jim’s most important accomplishment, raising two remarkable, strong and independent sons began.
Jim’s professional life flourished in the 1990’s as he moved into the field of direct marketing and became an adjunct professor of marketing at American University. Jim continued to teach at A.U. until 2018 and he enjoyed setting a relaxed tone in his classroom by playing music for the students as they settled in. Recent students respectfully requested that Jim add some tunes from the 21st century to his playlist.
Jim retired from full-time work in 2018 but kept active as a marketing consultant and continued his participation in the Direct Marketing Association of Washington.
Jim had a deep commitment to the Edgewater Beach community in which he and his family lived. He served on the board of the neighborhood association for 25 years, progressing from recreation director to Vice President and finally to president from 2012 to 2017. Jim represented the community in negotiations with the county over public sewers and water and oversaw renovations to the community beach.
Jim’s dedication extended to the larger Annapolis community. He and Donna sponsored four midshipmen from the naval academy over a 12-year period, providing them a “home away from home” and forming lasting friendships with these young officers and their families. Jim even recruited his dog Bella for assistance to others. He was recently in the process of training her for community service work.
As his parents entered their 90’s, Jim took over the management of their care. He tirelessly researched and advocated for the best care possible for John and Elizabeth as their health declined. He visited them daily at the nursing facility and was introduced to the staff by his father as “the tallest guardian angel in the world.”
Jim is survived by his wife Donna, sons Michael and Brian, Brian’s fiancé Bessie Turner, siblings John, Maureen, Bob and Lori, siblings-in-law Marian Yim, Doug Meltzer, Mary Davis, Karen Day and David Young as well as nephews, Troy, Paul, James, Kevin and Matthew. A celebration of his life will take place at Lasting Tributes in Annapolis, Maryland on Sunday, February 23 from 4 to 7 pm. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Chesapeake Bay Foundation.
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