Dr. James Conroy Doig

With great sadness the family of Dr. James Conroy Doig announces his death on Thursday, October 19, 2017. The proud great-grandson on both sides of immigrants welcomed to America in the 19th century, Jim was born in Washington, D.C. on June 22, 1929 to Edwin and Helen Conroy Doig. The family relocated to Little Rock when he was a child, and he remembered fondly many adventures on the VA farm and hospital grounds where his father was an administrator. Jim earned a BA in philosophy from the University of Notre Dame and maintained a lifelong fidelity to that institution. He pursued graduate studies in Europe, earning two degrees at the Gregorian University in Rome and three more, including the doctorate with distinction, at the prestigious Higher Institute of Philosophy at the University of Louvain in Belgium. A founding member of the faculty of Clayton State University in 1969, Jim taught there until retirement in 1994. He continued until recent weeks to write and publish articles and books on Thomistic philosophy; a final book manuscript is virtually complete. But perhaps his main occupation during the years following retirement was teaching his beloved daughter to climb trees and read Latin and think critically. She is his best legacy. Jim was also a selfless volunteer at his parish, including many years at the Basilica of the Sacred Heart working every Monday with the offering counters. Survivors include his wife of 38 years, Kathleen (Kay); his daughter, Dr. Margaret Doig; her husband, Stephen Maderak; and their children, Isabelle Catherine and Patrick James. His brother Jack died in 2015. A sister, Helen Ball, survives him, as do 11 sisters- and brothers-in-law and 14 nieces and nephews and their spouses and children. The funeral Mass will be celebrated at the Basilica of the Sacred Heart on October 28 at 11 a.m. His ashes will be interred at a later date at Notre Dame.Visitation will be Friday October 27, 6 p.m. to 8 p.m., with prayers at 7 p.m at A.S. Turner Funeral Home, Decatur,