Praises sung for prison chaplain

Reverend Doris Haley receives citation from Chester County commissioners

WEST CHESTER >> A dear friend of the Reverend Doris Haley put it this way, speaking of the essence of her character during a recent Chester County commissioners meeting at which her 40 years of service to the needy in the county was praised.

“Doris has only one direction to go and that is forward,” said Toby Gelman, who works with Haley in her post as chaplain of the Lions Club in Chester and Berks counties. “If you see Doris coming towards you it is for one of two reasons: To ask you to help her do something, or to offer to help.”

Haley, who disclosed her age at a precocious 39 years — “Don’t be putting that old age on me!” she exclaimed — was honored by the commissioners with a citation for “her unselfish dedication that has changed the lives of so many Chester County citizens, young and old.”

Haley works as chaplain at the county’s Pocopson Home for elderly residents, the Chester County Prison, the Chester County Youth Center for delinquent juveniles, as well as a multitude of community-based organizations such as the Lions Club and the Chester County Family Academy.”

Officials from Pocopson, the prison, and the Youth Center all appeared at the commissioners meeting Tuesday to sing her praises.

“We have the privilege of working with Doris Haley each and every day at Pocopson, full-time,” said Jacqueline McKenna, the facility’s administrator. ”She is just an incredible woman. Her energy is contagious, it is boundless.”

Dee Stadtmiller, an activities director of Pocopson, said she had worked with Haley for 25