Dr.

Doran Obituary
By Alessandra Lowy
For 12 years, a Brit by upbringing -- Irishman by birth -- led a school of Patriots marching
under the banner of red, white and blue.
Through tragedy and triumph, Dr. Michael Doran was the linchpin of Wootton, the thread that
stitched together a diverse community -- competitive at its core -- seamlessly weaving together
the social, academic, athletic and extracurricular realms to foster an environment of comfort and
security and ease the pressure that permeates this community.
On Aug. 19, Dr. Dorans life was suddenly cut short, as he died due to an unknown heart
problem in his Bethesda apartment, according to the Washington Post.
Dorans distinctive personality -- his zest for life, boundless charisma, sharp wit, robust
passion and ineffable love for his community -- rendered him an authentic and one-of-a-kind
educator who served as the mainstay of Wootton. His loss is felt deeply in all reaches of the
community and beyond, and the lessons he taught and lives he touched will live on as part of his
legacy.
Doran was a benevolent ruler. He frequently said that no significant learning can occur
without a significant relationship. Bearing in mind this mantra, Doran took it upon himself to
forge personal bonds with his students, whom he treated as equals with paternal compassion and
love. To meet someone with the wisdom of a sage but the ebullience of a child is a rarity. Indeed,
the playful, light-hearted nature to which Doran clung until his last days while still maintaining
the aura of aplomb and authority that demanded respect and obedience epitomize what made
Doran so widely loved and revered.
He cared deeply about his students and faculty and imbued the halls with a profound sense of
vim and verve. He was famous for his ability to see the best in everyone, enkindling confidence
and passion and galvanizing those around him to be the best possible version of themselves. As
security team leader Eddie Tolliver remarked at Dorans memorial service, Doran connected with
Tolliver on a personal level at Pyle Middle School -- where Tolliver was a custodian -- and when
he left for Wootton, Doran told Tolliver he was coming back for him. Sure enough, years later,
Doran interviewed Tolliver and hired him as a security guard.
Beyond his genuine compassion for those around him, Dorans brand of altruism manifested
itself in friendly chats with student passersby, in spontaneous pep-talks given to students feeling
the weight of the pressure of the community, in succor provided to grieving students after the
deaths of their peers.
Doran lived with a Gatsby-esque heightened sensitivity to the promises of life, an
extraordinary gift for hope, and a romantic readiness for any challenge that might come his way.
He greeted life with optimism and passion and radiated warmth and love -- of learning, life and
all of us.

He wore his Wootton identity as a badge of honor, priding himself on his students
accomplishments and owning so much school gear that -- as his son Sam jokingly noted at his
memorial service -- the means through which he acquired all of it was questionable. Doran
believed it was incumbent upon himself to attend every school event he could, from cheering his
students on at sports games to dancing with them at Homecomings and Proms, to even livestreaming the National League of Legends championship that the Wootton team competed in.
When rejoicing in the glory of the schools win of the League of Legends National title, former
assistant principal Jeffrey Brown said to Doran: Michael, you have no idea what a Level 80
warlock even is to which Doran quickly responded, I dont, youre right, but my kids do, and
theyre the best at it.
Dorans sharp wit manifested itself in almost every interaction he had with students, faculty,
and family. At one Thursday Night Live (TNL) performance, Doran agreed to sing a Sonny &
Cher song, despite his stage fright when singing in front of crowds. Before entering the stage, he
told the two emcees: If I am going out there, you two are coming with me, so that they can
laugh at your faces, and not at my singing.
At the Class of 2015 graduation, after a year of the seniors losing to the juniors in
competitions like Puttin on the Hitz (POTH) and the Homecoming hallway, Doran announced to
the crowd: the seniors finally beat the juniors at something -- they graduated first.
Earlier this year, when 2015 senior class president Max Strasser earned himself a parking
ticket and asked Doran to write a note excusing it, Doran scrawled, in typical, sarcastic Doran
fashion: please excuse, it was his poor mums car, and he is a very busy student leader, wah wah
wah. Famous for his casual attire -- even at staff meetings -- on Halloween 2013, Doran came to
school clad head-to-toe in Churchill spirit wear, insisting that it was the scariest costume [he]
could think of.
An avid sports fan, Doran took it upon himself to attend almost every school sporting event.
Soccer was his province. He played soccer competitively throughout his time in England and
played recreationally in the U.S., where he started the first ever soccer league in Roanoke,
Virginia. Dorans athleticism served him outside of his soccer career and he remained incredibly
fit (despite all the French fries he snatched from students lunches) for his whole life. In fact, in
1984, Doran ran the New York City marathon in three hours and seventeen minutes.
He coached soccer for 12 years and was a self-proclaimed Manchester United fan-boy, a fact
that engendered many a playful dispute with ftbol aficionados in the school cafeteria. A
competitive spirit at heart, Doran was a boisterous, rowdy fan at sporting events -- especially
soccer games -- where a referee (unaware that Doran was the principal) once instructed assistant
principal Brown to quiet Doran down and tell him to cease his outbursts. After the varsity boys'
soccer team won the state championship, an elated Doran's first words to coach Doug Schuessler
were: "I thought there were a few mistakes you made coaching" before laughing and enveloping
him in a loving, congratulatory embrace.

Born in Ireland, Doran spent his childhood in England before matriculating to the University
of Southampton, graduating in 1974 with a major in education. He taught primary school in
England under Education Secretary Margaret Thatcher, whose cuts to education Doran deplored.
Doran especially condemned Thatcher for her removal of free milk cartons from primary
schools, which, in effect, eliminated "milk break," which Doran often remarked was his favorite
time of the school day.
In 1976, Doran moved to the United States, where he earned a master's degree in sports
management at Boston University and a masters degree and doctorate degree in education
administration from the Teachers College at Columbia University. He then taught in Boston and
New York City.
Doran often humorously said that while he came to the U.S. for the educational opportunities,
he stayed for the women, who were enthralled by his charisma and charming British accent. In
that vein, it was in America that he met the love of his life, Kathy Lavinder, his future bride.
On August 1, 1975, the two met over a holiday in Cape Cod through a mutual friend, a onearmed Quebecois artist named Pierre. On May 26, 1977, the two married at Hollins University in
Roanoke, Virginia. The couple later had two children: Emma and Samuel.
Doran spent a decade in Fairfax County Public Schools as an assistant principal at Poe
Middle School and a principal of Luther Jackson Middle School, before moving to Montgomery
County Public Schools in 1997. From 1997 to 2003, he served as principal of Pyle, where he was
known to conclude the day by announcing: "Go home, read a book, stay off the telephone, no
TV, do your homework, mathematics can be FUN." During that time, he also began to teach
Sunday school at St. Francis Episcopal Church in Potomac. In 2003, he took up the mantle of
leadership at Wootton High School, and the rest is history.
Doran was a voracious, lifelong reader, averaging one book a week, with a penchant for
detective novels and J.R.R. Tolkien books. A poetry aficionado, Doran loved the work of
contemporary poet Billy Collins. He loved theatre, especially Irish theatre one of his favorite
thespians being Connor McPherson, whose plays Doran and his family attended on Broadway
multiple times. One of his favorite recent films was The Wind That Shakes the Barley. Doran
loved traditional Irish songs, Van Morrison, and rock and roll music especially that of Elvis
Costello, Jackson Brown and Warren Zevon.
His spirit is carried on by his wife, Kathy Lavinder; a professional recruiter; his son, Samuel,
a lawyer; his daughter, Emma, a physician for the Navy; his beagle Winston; his friends; peers;
and, by us, his beloved Patriots.
Doran concluded every graduation ceremony with an Irish blessing from his youth: "May you
have warm words on a cool evening, a full moon on a dark night, and a smooth road all the way
to your door." With Doran no longer with us, it is our duty to be each other's warm words, full
moon, and smooth road -- to provide each other with the camaraderie, succor and emotional
support with which Doran sought to suffuse the school throughout his tenure. It is our duty to
make Wootton, as a wise principal once said, "not just a good school, not just a great school, but

the best school," to treasure our time here as much as he did, and to take up the mantle of Doran's
legacy and live with a Doran-esque brand of benevolence, altruism, positivity and passion for
everything we do.