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Dr. Ruth T. Doyle, who served for 22 years as the director of pastoral research and planning for the archdiocese, died Dec. 31. She was 93.
She worked for the archdiocese for nearly 30 years, serving as director of pastoral research and planning from 1980 to 2002.
Dr. Doyle, who held a doctorate in sociology from Fordham University, also was the editor of Clergy Report and served on the archdiocesan Pastoral Council.
She also served on the Asian/Pacific Islander Council.
Before coming to the archdiocese in 1972, she spent three years on the research staff of the executive council of the Episcopal Church of New York.
In a Catholic New York story in October 1999 when she received the top award for exemplary service to the Church from Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate (CARA), she said she considered the work done by her office a vital service to the Church. “I believe any decisions in planning must be made on facts and real data which is accumulated in a formulated way,” she said. “We try to supply that as much as possible.”
Born and raised in London, she came to New York to attend Manhattanville College in Purchase, where she earned a bachelor’s degree. At Fordham, she also received a master’s in sociology before earning her Ph.D. at age 65.
Married to the late Stephen Doyle for 60 years, she is survived by her children, Elizabeth and Peter, and three grandchildren.
A Funeral Mass was offered Jan. 9 at St. Margaret of Cortona Church in the Riverdale section of the Bronx. Burial was in Gate of Heaven Cemetery.
