Doran null Obituary

Umpires in heaven, watch out: Mike Doran is on his way up and he no doubt saved his best one-liner for last. Earl Michael Doran – better known as Mike, Coach Doran, Coach D, Papa D, Ush, and one of the world's greatest-ever baseball coaches – passed away on April 28 due to lung cancer complications.
He was 83. Mike was born May 24, 1938, to Earl M. Doran and Lena Maren Reese in the tiny logging town of Clatskanie, Ore. He inherited the hard-working nature of his dad, a pioneering Oregon forester and part-time boxer, and his mom, who might as well have rolled up her sleeve and posed for the "We Can Do It" poster by working in the Portland shipyards during World War II. Though his first name was Earl, he never went by it, and certainly wouldn't answer to it. When there were three Mikes in his elementary school first grade, he instead chose to go by "Mickey" – an apt precursor to his love of baseball and one of the game's namesakes, Mickey Mantle. Mike attended college at Lewis-Clark State and the University of Oregon and served four years in the U.S. Air Force (1961-65), where he learned to speak Russian by spying on Soviet planes in the period between the Korean and Vietnam wars.
In 1968, with his service and education behind him, Mike moved to Salem and began a 30-year teaching career at South Salem High School, where he taught social studies, economics and Russian language. As a first-year teacher, he met his lifelong best friends, John Horn, Ken Wilson, and Pete Hoffert, among others. It was a fortuitous meeting as Mike's Detroit Tigers beat Horn's St. Louis Cardinals to win the '68 World Series. Mike and John later owned a summer house-painting business together and, over the years, there were easily more Tigers-Cards trash talking moments than gallons of paint applied.
It was in the early '70s, however, that Mike's life would forever change for the best when he met the love of his life, Lana Lee Bush. The two married in 1973 and had two children, John and Maren. Mike adopted Lana's first daughter, Timberlee, and until the day he died Mike was the best husband and father a family could imagine. Mike's influence on Salem baseball was profound. He was known as a fiery manager – living up to his "Billy Ball" bumper sticker and to the hard-nosed style of play of his favorite MLB manager, Billy Martin. Hardly a Little League, Babe Ruth, high school, American Legion or collegiate baseball player who had the good fortune of being coached by Mike didn't come away astounded by his deep knowledge of the game or moved by his fun-loving coaching style. Mike could spot a swing glitch a mile away and was even better at helping players fix it. He was better yet at connecting personally with his players, many of whom still count him as one of life's greatest mentors.
Mike stepped down in 1986 as Saxons' manager to coach his son, John, and followed John throughout his playing and coaching careers. Mike won several Valley League championships at South Salem and later as an assis- tant under legendary Coach Bill Baumgartner at Sprague; an OSAA state championship in 1995 for Sprague; an American Legion state and regional championship and third-place finish in the World Series in 1994; and produced several competitive teams as batting coach at Willamette University. In addition to his legendary coaching, Mike was known for his prowess to unnerve umpires. One could write a short book on Mike's clever one-liners, which usually ended with him getting thrown out of the game and hitting the showers early – where he'd find a showerhead that's a better umpire, he once said. One of the best ejection stories came when Mike was still head coach for the Saxons. Playing against rival Sprague in the season opener, he got tossed in the first inning for telling beloved local umpire Cheeseburger, "Dad gummit, Cheeseburger, quit eating all them cheeseburgers so you can bend down and see some strikes!" Outside of baseball, Mike was the quintessential theater dad. He never missed Maren's many performances, typically with her playing the lead role. He would often arrive fresh off the baseball field, in full uniform, and take his rightful seat in the front row with rapt attention and beaming with pride. Mike's greatest legacy is his nearly 50-year marriage to Lana, as well as his children, eight grandchildren, and six great-grandchildren who do their best to live up to his high bar daily. Mike is survived by his wife, Lana; son, John (Anna) Doran; daughters, Maren Frith and Timberlee Williamson; grandchildren Annabelle, MacKenzie and Oliver Frith; Ellie and Finn Doran; Bob Berry, Elizabeth Hogeland, and Beckey Berrey; and great-grandchildren Samantha, Logan, Lexi, Sophie, Ben and Tony.
A celebration of life will be held July 23, 2022, at Our Savior's Lutheran Church. 1770 Baxter Road SE Salem, OR 97302. Family visitation will begin at 10:00 AM, with services starting at 11:00 AM. A celebration reception to follow the services.
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