Anita Patricia Dougherty

November 3, 1945 ~ June 15, 2019

Anita Dougherty, a longtime Seattle resident who lived in Pacific Grove California for the last 5 years, passed away June 15, 2019 at Canterbury Woods after a long illness.

A mass will be said at

St. Angela Merici in Pacific Grove on June 27 at 11:00AM.

She was born in Los Angeles to Richard and Margaret Dougherty, the fourth of six children. She majored in math at UCSB and returned to Los Angeles to work at Occidental Life Insurance, where she had to convince them, because she was a woman, to train her as a programmer. She moved to Seattle in 1972 and worked for Safeco until 1979. Over the next thirty years she enjoyed a successful career as a mainframe computer programmer, working as a contractor on a wide variety of projects for over a dozen organizations. She was employed by BUD in Monterey, several banks, Northeast Utility Co., the US Postal Service, the US Navy, the State of Washington, Alaska, and Alaska Airlines.

She is survived by a brother, Kenneth Dougherty and by four sisters, Cathy Iseman, Peggy Ryan, Mary Merriman and Irene Kowal, and 14 nieces and nephews and 11 great nieces and nephews.

She loved the arts and this world we inhabit. She was a voracious reader and elegant writer. She was a great friend to people all over the world, especially in the Pacific Northwest. Many thanks to all of you who supported throughout these last years of her life, especially to the parishioners of St. Thomas Church in Green Lake, Washington and the staff at Canterbury Woods.

Contributions may be made to the in lieu of flowers.