On May 10, 2025, the world lost some of its laughter with the passing of John A. Doyle of Wilmington, Delaware, who died peacefully in his sleep with his wife and adult children at his bedside.
Born in 1942 in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, John was the beloved husband of Nancy Lee Coleman Doyle, devoted father to John A. “Sean” Doyle, Jr. (Jenny) and Cindy Doyle Dikeman (Ray), and a proud grandfather to Andrieu Doyle, Abigail Doyle, Allison Doyle, Natalie Dikeman, Brooke Dikeman, and Colleen Dikeman.
The fifth of six children raised on a mill worker’s wages, John learned that the unspoken values of responsibility and hard work meant security, and he spent his entire life, even to his last days, ensuring that his family and those he loved were cared for.
After graduating high school at 16, John was a Tau Beta Pi Chemical Engineering graduate of the University of Massachusetts, before receiving his Masters in Science in Chemical Engineering from the University of Virgina. He then moved to Wilmington in 1963 for a job with Hercules, Inc., where at a community dance, he would meet a nursing student, Nancy, and the two would spend close to sixty-one love-filled years together.
While at Hercules, John graduated from the Wharton Executive Development Program at the University of Pennsylvania and held various engineering and managerial positions, including Director of Process Engineering and Operations.
John’s humanity transcended corporate culture. When his company was going through waves of downsizing, he was adamant and vigilante about finding positions for people who were to be let go, extending his care and responsibility to those beyond the circle of family. They had families too.
After retirement from Hercules in 2001, John served on multiple Boards and Professional Organizations, including the Delaware affiliate of the American Heart Association. He was an adjunct professor in Science at Wilmington University and later held the position of Executive Director of the Delaware Foundation for Science and Mathematics Education. For years, John quietly committed to caring for the community by working with groups such as Hospice, Make-a-Wish Foundation, Meals-on-Wheels, UrbanPromise of Delaware, Friendship House, and Junior Achievement. John was an active member of Westminster Presbyterian Church, where he delivered meals and flowers to those in need, and held the offices of Ordained Deacon, Elder, and later, Trustee.
John found joy in the small things including watching and playing golf (including miniature golf), entering contests and sweepstakes, solving crossword and jigsaw puzzles, cheering for the grandkids at their sporting events, watching all the Oscar-nominated movies with Nancy, rooting for the Red Sox, drawing maps, taking daily walks, and of course, going to the grocery store.
The truest measure of John’s life consists in the subtle and gentle things, that cannot be adequately listed: His Herculean-levels of responsibility; the deep caring; the unending appreciation and love.
And of course, one cannot speak of John’s life without reference to his humor: sometimes funny, but always kind-hearted. Whether with strangers in grocery stores or on the boardwalk in Bethany, John always wanted to make other people smile. This is something we desperately need. While John was brilliant at math, the number of people he touched cannot be calculated.
John is preceded in death by his parents James E. Doyle and Rita M. Doyle, sisters Suzanne Petrini Calhoun, Sheila Marino Hacker, Linda Doyle McGinnis and his brother James Edward Doyle III. He is survived by his loving wife, children, grandchildren; by his devoted niece Sandy James, her children, grandchild and great-grandchild; and by his brother Thomas M. Doyle, an especially close nephew Joe Petrini, as well as several other nephews and nieces.
A memorial service will be held at Westminster Presbyterian Church, 1502 W 13th Street Wilmington, Delaware 19806, on May 24, 2025 at 10:00 a.m. All who knew and loved John are welcome to attend and celebrate his life.
In lieu of flowers, the family suggests that donations be made in his name to UrbanPromise, Wilmington, Delaware (college scholarships) https://www.urbanpromise.org/, or to the Delaware Valley chapter of the Alzheimer’s Association. https://www.alz.org/delval
John wanted always to make people smile. And he will forever do so, by the memories he left.
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