It was a fitting tribute to a man who worked hard for his home borough as Christian Doran’s friends and family flooded a Bellerose church for his funeral mass.
Doran, who died suddenly from an asthma attack last week at age 28, helped start the preservation organization People for the Pavilion with hopes of protecting the iconic site of the 1964 World’s Fair in Queens. And while his life may have been cut short, those who remembered the Maspeth native spoke of a man whose life proved true the notion of quality over quantity.
“We are celebrating a short, but fulfilling life,” said Msgr. Edward Ryan, who spoke at Doran’s Friday morning funeral at St. Gregory the Great in Bellerose. “His life was a life of giving and a life of appreciating the beauty of helping others. While he was alive, he lived.”
Doran was in the public eye just days before his death, participating in a walking tour of the pavilion alongside Queens Borough President Melinda Katz, who has vowed to fulfill his goal of keeping the area preserved.
“Over the past months, we have been lucky enough to have had the opportunity to become friends and partners with Christian Doran,” said People for the Pavilion’s Salmaan Khan and Matthew Silva in a statement. “If you had the opportunity to speak with him, you knew he was special. He was someone who could share his passion in a way that could excite absolutely anyone, and he had a knack for comfortably engaging those around him.”
When he was not working to save the Queens Pavilion, Doran also worked as a sound engineer at Queens Theater in the Park and was known to be a passionate lover of music.
His brother, Sean Doran, gave a touching glimpse into his brother’s life, reading some words their father Steve had prepared for the mass.
“Tian [Christian’s nickname] was our spirit, our drumbeat, our heartbeat, our joy, our baby, our love,” the letter read. “He lit up a room, made everyone smile and was the most loving person we have ever known.”
Ryan also pointed out the February edition of The Gregorian, the church’s monthly newsletter, which happened to feature an early moment of Doran’s life in its “Great Gregorian Moments” section. Page seven of this month’s issue showcased an old family affair photo of Doran, then only seven weeks old, in the arms of his father Steve.
Some photos of the young Doran showcased a Willy Wonka tattoo on his right shoulder. It was only fitting that his funeral mass ended with the entire room joining together to sing, “Pure Imagination,” the anthem of the 1971 film.
By Phil Corso
