12/29/1932 – 11/13/2023
Maureen “Lady Bug”Doherty was born on Dec.29, 1932 in Oroville, Calif.
to James Vincent “JV”Doherty and Lella Belle Ball Doherty. She made/
her way to heaven on Nov. 13, 2023, where God welcomed her with open arms
and told her not to swing on the gates.
The youngest of four siblings, Lady Bug grew up near the northwest base of the Sutter Buttes where her father farmed for a local operation and the family would spend their winters in the nearby town of Colusa. She attended Holy Rosary Catholic Boarding School in Woodland and Dominican Boarding School in San Rafael. In her early teens, Lady Bug’s parents purchased the Red Rose
Ranch in Arbuckle, a big white house surrounded
by almond trees. With the new homestead and the family’s farming operation prospering, Lady Bug finally talked her parents into letting her finish
her school years at Pierce High School.
After high school, she attended Stanford University. She graduated
with a Master’s degree in Physical Education but not before taking the time
to become Queen of the Livestock Grand National at the Cow Palace in San
Francisco.
Lady Bug went on to have three lovely daughters, Diane, Patria and
Paige. While raising her children she taught girls P.E. at San Rafael
High School for 11 years and in 1970 moved to Loomis where she
continued to teach.
In addition to teaching, Lady Bug was also a rice farmer and had a love for cattle, especially Shorthorns (to add a splash of color) to the mix. While in Loomis she began to raise, breed and show her Shorthorns, from the “Lady Bug Ranch.” When her girls went off to college, she moved back to Colusa County and purchased one of her family’s old ranches, in Sites, continuing to raise cattle, as well as being a US Department of Agriculture Brand Inspector in Sonoma and Marin Counties for three years.
She served as President of the local GlennColusa CattleWomen and
Cattlemen’s Associations, President of the California CattleWomen’s Association, was assigned by the Governor to serve on the Colusa County Fair Board, the Central Valley Flood Protection Board for the state of California, FSA Committee, the Maxwell School Board, the FFA Advisory Committee, 4-H Leader and a longtime member of the Sacred Heart Parish. Forever a cowgirl at heart, Lady Bug remained active in the local CattleWomen’s groups and continued to be an advocate for the western way of life.
Lady Bug is preceded in death by her parents, James Vincent “JV”
Doherty, Lella Belle Ball, Brother Michael (Kirsten) Doherty and sister Mary
Ellen Doherty Bichard.
She leaves behind daughters, Diane (Jim) Wiens, Patria (David) Forster and Paige (Sid) LaGrande. Grandchildren, Matthew (Mackenzie) Forster, Mary (Nathan) Schramm, Michael (Serena) Forster, John (Chrissy) Wiens, Tara Forster (Chris Buzbee), Sara (Gerardo) Contreras, Maureen LaGrande and
Theresa LaGrande. In addition, she also leaves behind 15 wonderful great-grandchildren, sister Margaret Abele and numerous nephews and nieces.
Her memory will live on in her daughters, grandchildren, great-grandchildren and all those who were lucky enough to meet her. We know that she is having a
blessed time above with a box of See’s Candy in her hands.
Services will be held on Wednesday, Dec. 6, with a Rosary at 10 a.m. at the Holy Cross Catholic Church in Arbuckle, followed by mass at 11 a.m., a graveside service and reception at the Arbuckle Golf Club. In lieu of
flowers, donations can be made to Glenn–Colusa CattleWomen or
Cattlemen’s Association or a charity of your choice.