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Ronald Dougherty,
Developer Peter Smith dies
pub owner, comedian,
showman, dies at 65
More obituaries By Harold Morse
Star-BulletinRonald Dougherty, retired owner of O'Toole's Pub, had a flair for showmanship.
Longtime friend Eddie O'Toole, for whom the downtown bar was named, called Dougherty a classical man. "He was really a nice man, very accommodating," O'Toole said. "He had a good sense of humor."
Dougherty, 65, of Lahaina died Saturday in Maui Memorial Hospital.
O'Toole said: "They decided they wanted to open up an Irish pub ... and Ron asked me if they could use my name, and I told him, 'Go ahead.'"
Some felt Dougherty ran the bar like a private club, O'Toole said. "He was a good comedian; he was very funny. He was a good cook, and he worked hard all his life."
O'Toole praised his friend of some 30 years: "He should have been on the stage. He was very glib and funny, always had something funny to say," O'Toole said. "People went in to see him more than anything else, I'd say. ... He kept everybody entertained."
Dougherty's wife, Judy, said he came to Hawaii in 1964, working at Rudy's Italian Restaurant and the Red Vest before taking over the downtown pub -- then called Sam's Place -- in 1975.
He was born in Allentown, Pa. In addition to his wife, Dougherty is survived by his mother, Peggy Kramer, and sisters Linda Kramer and Pegge Lou.
A celebration-of-life gathering will be at 1 p.m. Saturday at O'Toole's Pub. Services will be private. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to the American Cancer Society.
