DOUGHERTY, Bert Guy

Published by Today's News Herald on Jan. 5, 2025 - Lake Havasu City, Arizona - BERT G. DOUGHERTY, M.D., F.C.A.P. Bert Guy Dougherty passed away on December 6, 2024, after a long battle with cancer. He was born on January 28, 1953, in El Dorado, Arkansas, the son of James Leonard Dougherty and Martha Galbraith Dougherty. At the age of two, Bert was stricken by polio. The family relocated to Houston, Texas, where he attended St. Luke's Methodist Church and graduated from Lamar High School. He earned a bachelor's degree in chemistry from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and an M.D. degree from the University of Texas Health Science Center Houston, where he also trained as a resident in pathology. He completed training in Surgical Pathology and Cytopathology at the M.D. Anderson Cancer Center and later became a Fellow of the College of American Pathologists. In 1981, Bert married Pamela Y. Nelson in Houston. They moved to El Dorado, Arkansas where Bert practiced pathology. They had two children, Elsa and Nelson, and later moved to Baton Rouge, Louisiana. In 2007, Bert married Judith Marek, and they moved to Las Vegas, Nevada. Bert practiced pathology at Havasu Regional Medical Center in Lake Havasu City, Arizona from 2009 to 2024. Bert appreciated music, including jazz, rock, country, classical, and sacred. He played in a band called "Up All Night" and sang in a church choir. He composed and arranged solo works under the name "Bert Guy." Over many years, Bert travelled to Colorado and New Mexico for family events, music festivals, and hiking. Bert was predeceased by his brother Newton Gilbert Dougherty and his father James. He is survived by his mother Martha, his wife Judith, his former spouse Pamela, his sister Pattie D. White, his brother James L. Dougherty, Jr., his daughter Elsa, his son Nelson, his daughter-in-law Emanuella, and his grandson Sidney. The memorial service for Bert will be held in the Chapel of St. Luke's United Methodist Church, Houston, Texas, on January 11, 2025, at 2:00 PM, with a reception following. Memorial donations can be made to the American Cancer Society or the Aspen Music Festival And School.