It took Birch Doran only 27 months to complete his college education after being discharged from the Army at the end of World War II.
That fast-track approach was evident in his life’s endeavors, ranging from his work on the U.S. Civil Service Commission as an investigator during the 1950s to implementing the first security systems at major Midwestern airports in the 1970s.
Mr. Doran, 83, of Batavia, died Saturday, Feb. 2, in the Tillers Health Care Residence in Oswego of complications from Alzheimer’s disease.
Mr. Doran was born in McIntire, Iowa, but his family later moved to St. Paul, Minn. In 1942 at the age of 23, he entered the Army, rising to the rank of technical sergeant and chief cryptographic technician working on breaking and interpreting enemy codes in the Pacific.
“My dad came out of the war being pretty anti-war. He seemed to be scarred by the whole thing,” his son James Doran said.
Upon his return to his home state, he attended University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, graduating in near-record time with a bachelor of arts degree in social sciences. He continued with graduate work at the University of Minnesota.
Eugene McCarthy was one of his instructors.
One of his first positions was as a supervisor with the Youth Conservation Commission of St. Paul, which offered special programs for juvenile offenders.
In the Eisenhower administration, Mr. Doran became an investigator with the Civil Service Commission, running investigations on companies and their personnel who did business with federal government agencies.
“He would go and investigate the backgrounds and people that were the kings of industry,” said his son. “He really enjoyed that.”
Mr. Doran moved his wife and seven children to Kansas City, Mo., when he began his association with the Federal Aviation Administration.
After a string of airline hijackings in the 1970s, Mr. Doran was made the first chief of the Air Transportation Security Division in the Great Lakes Region, covering all airports in six states. It was Mr. Doran’s responsibility to implement the security systems that today’s air travelers have become so accustomed to, such as X-ray machines, screening and security. “He used to panic if there was a hijacking. He didn’t want it to be in his section,” said his son.
The FAA office was eventually moved to Des Plaines, and the Dorans moved to Batavia in 1972. Mr. Doran retired in 1979.
“He was a Type A personality, but he had a quick Irish wit. He was always referring to me as his wife `what’s her name,'” said Helen Marcine Doran, his wife of 52 years.
Mr. Doran is also survived by four daughters, Mary Nash, Elizabeth Pittman, Jane Rogers and Anne Galloway; two other sons, Joseph and Patrick; and 21 grandchildren.
Private services are scheduled for Friday.
