Former mayor, booster for Bellevue
No one was a bigger champion for Bellevue than George D. Doscher.
The former two-term mayor, councilman and resident devoted much of his life to making the North Hills borough of about 8,300 people a better place, said loved ones.
Even after he and his wife, Barbara Doscher, moved five years ago to open a market in Economy, Beaver County, Mr. Doscher never forgot his hometown.
The 61-year-old Bellevue proponent died Aug. 16 of a heart attack.
His frank personality wasn’talways well-suited for politics, but that was part of his charm, said his son, Jesse Doscher of Emsworth.
“My dad was not one to sugarcoat things,” his son said. “He was good at shaking hands and kissing babies, but he could not bite his tongue. He was very upfront with what he thought and he was extremely honest.”
Mr. Doscher, who served on the Bellevue planning commission for two years, as a councilman from 20012005 and as mayor from 20062014, was a vocal proponent for the town even in the lean years, when the economy took its toll on both residents and businesses in the borough.
“It’s like the last remaining piece of our pride and dignity,” Mr. Doscher said in a Pittsburgh Post-Gazette story in 2010 about the popularity of Friday night football games at Northgate High School.
He and others opposed a push by state government to merge the state’s 500 school districts into 100.
As mayor, Mr. Doscher, a Democrat, was at odds with council at times and vetoed several controversial pieces of legislation, such as an attempt to curtail the use of outdoor grills — an issue that led to public protests in 2012 — and an increase in local sewer rates.
Mrs. Doscher said her husband was a simple man who didn’t mince words.
“You either really, really liked him or you didn’t,” said Mrs. Doscher, a registered nurse. “He never, ever forgot that his job was to make Bellevue better. If someone did something he felt wasn’t in the best interest of Bellevue, it caused problems. He was a no-nonsense man — you always knew where you stood with George.”
Mr. Doscher grew up in Bellevue, graduating from what was then Bellevue High School in 1975.
When she met him on a blind date in 1990, Mrs. Doscher said, he was working as an aide at Mayview State Hospital.
The two married on Dec. 28, 1991 — exactly one year after they met. Although the timing was romantic, it also proved practical.
“He wanted to get married on the 28th because he wanted the [tax] deduction” for the year, said Mrs. Doscher, who wasn’t bothered by her husband’s pragmatic side. “He was the yin to my yang.”
Mr. Doscher worked for 25 years as a sales representative for KCI Medical, along with his work at the borough. He donated his modest salary as a councilman and mayor to a different charitable cause each month, Mrs. Doscher said.
“Any money he ever earned, he donated,” said Mrs. Doscher, who added that her husband tried unsuccessfully to convince his colleagues that their elected positions should be volunteer. “That didn’t go over big.”
Jesse Doscher said his father quietly took care of people in his community in other ways, too.
“My dad was a really charitable person,” he said, recalling that his father sent checks monthly to a local couple after one of their children had become very sick. “He gave and gave and gave, but no one knew he did it.”
“He was probably the most caring, nice and straightforward guy I ever met,” said another son, Connor Doscher of Cranberry. “I couldn’t have asked for a better dad growing up.”
Their dad hated sports, but was always in the stands anyway, watching his sons, they said.
“Everyone perceived my dad as this big, tough guy, but no one saw the side of my dad that we did,” Jesse Doscher said. “He was a funloving, supportive dad.”
One of the best times he spent with his father was in November, when they saw a Bob Dylan concert together, Jesse Doscher said. “He turned me on to a lot of the oldies,” he said.
By 2013, Mr. Doscher was finishing his second and final term as mayor when his wife came to him with an idea that was sparked by a trip to a convenience store in Economy.
“I wanted oatmeal and the store didn’t have any, but it had a for-sale sign in front of it,” she recalled.
She convinced her husband that he could operate a market, especially after managing budgets that numbered in the millions.
“We sold our 16-room house in Bellevue and bought a house in Economy,” she said. “He was the face of the store every day and he loved it.”
For the past five years, customers have stopped by Doscher’s Market and More on Big Sewickley Creek Road just to chat with Mr. Doscher, she said.
“The community here in Economy is our family now,” she said.
After he left the medical profession, Mr. Doscher was free to buy a baby blue hearse, a car he’d dreamed of owning for years, Jesse Doscher said.
“He felt like it wasn’t a great idea to drive up to nursing homes in a hearse when he was working in the medical field, but he always wanted one,” his son said. “His philosophy was that it was underused, well-maintained and it was a Cadillac, which he loved.”
One day a man stopped in the market, inquiring about purchasing the car, Jesse Doscher said. Mr. Doscher declined but, as was his style, became friendly with the man and agreed to call him if he ever decided to sell.
Jesse Doscher said he phoned the man after his father’s death, and he and his mother have agreed to give the car to him as a gift in Mr. Doscher’s name.
“This gentleman was as nice as my dad said he was,” said Jesse Doscher, who noted that his father would have appreciated their gesture. “We decided to give it to him, as long as he loves it as much as my father did.”
A celebration of life for Mr. Doscher will be held from 3 to 9 p.m. Sept. 8 at the Economy Volunteer Fire Department banquet hall, 3308 Conway Wallrose Road. The family suggests attendees bring a covered dish or dessert in Mr. Doscher’s memory.
The family suggests memorial donations in Mr. Doscher’s name to Hunt of a Lifetime, P.O. Box 241, Harborcreek, PA 16421 or huntofalifetime.org. The nonprofit grants hunting and fishing wishes to children with lifethreatening illnesses.