Carollou Doherty

CarolLou Doherty, 83, of Hackettstown, NJ passed away on April 4, 2025 at Hackettstown Medical Center.

Carol was born on April 4, 1942 in East Orange, NJ to the late C. Russell Canfield and Edith Stritter Canfield.

She earned her Associates Degree from Wesley College. She worked as Medical Secretary to her late husband in his private psychiatry practice. Carol enjoyed dance at an early age, doing acrobats, backbends, and back walkovers in her backyard in East Orange. She was captain of the Cheerleading Squad at Clifford J. Scott High School.

She raised her four children in Bernardsville. It is not surprising that as her children got older, she pursued dance professionally. She was employed as a dance instructor and certified personal trainer at The Barn Studio in Bernardsville for many years prior to her retirement in 2000. She enjoyed decades of teaching ballroom, jazz, tap, and ballet. She was quite a popular aerobics instructor in the 80s and early 90s. The room was filled to capacity with students of all ages who adored her and were attracted to her welcoming smile and seemingly boundless energy.

Carol enjoyed knitting and crocheting, especially gifting various items to her family members and making prayer shawls for those in need of comfort. She was an avid reader and liked to travel. She and her husband Edgar took many road trips to Maine, California and the Canadian Rockies. They also enjoyed listening to and watching the waterfowl and other wildlife from the porch of their cabin at Pecks Pond in PA, or while kayaking the peaceful waters.

She was a parishioner of Trinity United Methodist Church in Hackettstown where she was a member of the Choir, a Lay Visitor, and the Chairwoman of the Church Mice. She previously served as Board Secretary at the Bernardsville Methodist Church. Above all she was devoted to her family. She treasured every moment spent with her children and grandchildren. She is remembered for her generosity, thoughtfulness, and kindness. She will be greatly missed.

Carol is survived by her devoted husband of 26 years, Edgar Pittenger, her loving children; Deborah Nazario and her husband Don, Brian Doherty and his wife Katherine, Peggy DeLong and her husband John, David Doherty and his wife Leslie, step-children, Gail Pittenger and Sharon Gilbert and her husband Dan, and her cherished grandchildren; Aeddan, Celina, Carly, Jason, Thomas, Morgan, Jamie, Rhiana, Emily, Katelyn, Leah, Aubrie and Reagan. She is also survived by her brother Ernest Canfield and his wife MaryAnn, and her sister Harriet Richmond and her husband Wayne, and her nieces and nephews Kathy, Carol, Russell, Tammy, and Sarah. In addition to her parents, she is preceded in death by her 1st husband of 31 years, William Thomas Doherty, MD, who passed away in 1994. She is also preceded in death by a brother, David Canfield.

A Memorial Service celebrating Carol’s life will be held on Saturday, May 17, 2025 at 11:00 AM at Trinity United Methodist Church, 213 Main Street, Hackettstown, NJ 07840.

Arrangements have been entrusted to Maguire Memorial Home, 124 High Street, Hackettstown, NJ 07840.