Mr. Doak, who questioned thousands of prospective jurors while presiding over the jury assignment room of the court's Civil Division for 16 of his 35 years in the court system, died Friday of cancer at his Rosslyn Farms home. He was 83.
Until shortly before his death, he entertained his family, friends and nurses from Family Hospice and Palliative Care with his favorite songs, jokes and sleight-of-hand magic.
"For a little guy from a little street in Carnegie, he had a wonderful life," said his younger son, Dennis Doak, of Rosslyn Farms. "He never sought wealth, but what a rich man he was."
Mr. Doak, who used his middle name -- and mother's maiden name -- as his first name, retired in 1987 as the division's chief minute clerk.
Mr. Doak, a graduate of Carnegie High School, was a star pitcher in high school, but not at Forbes Field. After accepting an offer from Pirates Hall of Famer Honus Wagner to pitch batting practice in 1940, he saw a lot of his best pitches get hit "way over" his head.
He joined the Marines in 1942 and was sent to southern California. While there, he met and bartered with Humphrey Bogart while the latter was filming "Sahara." In exchange for steaks he "requisitioned" from the mess hall, Mr. Bogart supplied him with chocolate.
Mr. Doak soon shipped out for the South Pacific. He was a member of the invasion forces on Iwo Jima and Okinawa. He also saw duty on the Gilbert Islands and Guadalcanal in the Solomon Islands.
He returned home in 1945 and in 1946, married his high school sweetheart, Annah Margaret Cole.
He was licensed as a mortician in 1948 by the state Board of Undertakers. He had graduated from the Pittsburgh School of Embalming in 1941. He later became a laborer, truck driver and a police officer for the B & O Railroad.
He joined the court system in 1952 as a tipstaff, or personal aide, to Judge Clarence B. Nixon. In 1956, he became a minute clerk in the Civil Division.
He was a member of Carnegie Methodist Church and a charter member of its Men's Club, and belonged to the former St. John's Masonic Lodge 219 of Oakland, Syria Shrine and the Rosslyn Farms Men's Club. He performed in skits at the Bench-Bar Show, an annual gathering of judges and lawyers at Seven Springs Mountain Resort, and with the Rosslyn Farms Players.
In addition to his wife and son, he is survived by another son, G. Foster Doak Jr. of York, one granddaughter, one great granddaughter, and one sister, Helen Doak Wilson of Johnstown, Ohio.
Mr. Doak, who questioned thousands of prospective jurors while presiding over the jury assignment room of the court's Civil Division for 16 of his 35 years in the court system, died Friday of cancer at his Rosslyn Farms home. He was 83.
Until shortly before his death, he entertained his family, friends and nurses from Family Hospice and Palliative Care with his favorite songs, jokes and sleight-of-hand magic.
"For a little guy from a little street in Carnegie, he had a wonderful life," said his younger son, Dennis Doak, of Rosslyn Farms. "He never sought wealth, but what a rich man he was."
Mr. Doak, who used his middle name -- and mother's maiden name -- as his first name, retired in 1987 as the division's chief minute clerk.
Mr. Doak, a graduate of Carnegie High School, was a star pitcher in high school, but not at Forbes Field. After accepting an offer from Pirates Hall of Famer Honus Wagner to pitch batting practice in 1940, he saw a lot of his best pitches get hit "way over" his head.
He joined the Marines in 1942 and was sent to southern California. While there, he met and bartered with Humphrey Bogart while the latter was filming "Sahara." In exchange for steaks he "requisitioned" from the mess hall, Mr. Bogart supplied him with chocolate.
Mr. Doak soon shipped out for the South Pacific. He was a member of the invasion forces on Iwo Jima and Okinawa. He also saw duty on the Gilbert Islands and Guadalcanal in the Solomon Islands.
He returned home in 1945 and in 1946, married his high school sweetheart, Annah Margaret Cole.
He was licensed as a mortician in 1948 by the state Board of Undertakers. He had graduated from the Pittsburgh School of Embalming in 1941. He later became a laborer, truck driver and a police officer for the B & O Railroad.
He joined the court system in 1952 as a tipstaff, or personal aide, to Judge Clarence B. Nixon. In 1956, he became a minute clerk in the Civil Division.
He was a member of Carnegie Methodist Church and a charter member of its Men's Club, and belonged to the former St. John's Masonic Lodge 219 of Oakland, Syria Shrine and the Rosslyn Farms Men's Club. He performed in skits at the Bench-Bar Show, an annual gathering of judges and lawyers at Seven Springs Mountain Resort, and with the Rosslyn Farms Players.
In addition to his wife and son, he is survived by another son, G. Foster Doak Jr. of York, one granddaughter, one great granddaughter, and one sister, Helen Doak Wilson of Johnstown, Ohio.
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