By Gene Robbins, Managing Editor
More than two dozen fire fighters dressed in formal uniforms saluted Doris Winifred Flatley, one of the first female firefighters in Hillsborough, at her funeral on Tuesday.
Mrs. Flatley, 83, died on Thursday, March 17. A 2008 Beacon article called her “used to breaking glass ceilings,” both as a career electrochemical engineer for RCA in Princeton and as a fire fighter.
In 2008, she was honored for 25 years of active service in Volunteer Fire Company No. 2. (Station 37).
“She was a spunky sort,” said Patrick Kelly, a former chief for Station 37 onTuesday. “She loved the give-and-take, busting chops and taking it as well.”
Mr. Kelly said Mrs. Flatley personified the acceptance of evolution in traditional roles of men and women.
“From a societal perspective, we’ve changed dramatically,” he said.
In that 2008 article by Audrey Levine, Ms. Flatley said she remembered attending the first Fireman’s Fair in 1981 and seeing that the sponsoring group, Hillsborough Fire Company No. 2, was recruiting members. When her husband, Donald Scher, said he would join, she said she would, too.
“Then I chickened out,” she said with a laugh. “But I met all the people involved and was very impressed with them. They were putting their lives on the line for no money, and I figured I could fit in with them.”
Ms. Flatley said that holding the distinction of being the first woman to join the company wasn’t really a surprise to her because she was an engineer and used to being in a field without many women.
“I expected some flack,” she said, “but I was used to working with men, so that was a great help. After a while, they came around.”
Mrs. Flatley said in 2008 she was proud of her work on a committee that ultimately built the state-of-the-art training Somerset County Fire Academy on Roycefield Road, with the groundbreaking held in 1998. She was also a former instructor there.
“The academy made training a lot more accessible to a lot more people,” said Mr. Kelly.
Mrs. Flatley lived in Hillsborough for 40 years. In her free time, she enjoyed collecting Madam Alexander dolls and firematic devices, taking cruises, cooking and fine wines.
A funeral service was held Tuesday, March 22, at Hillsborough Funeral Home, Route 206. Burial followed in Neshanic Cemetery.
At the gravesite, Somerset County Communications called out her name three times. When there was no response, a final bell tolled with the traditional words, “We’ll take it from here.”
