Doran served in WWII with the Royal Canadian Engineers, Reg. # G3999, who were deployed with the 3rd Canadian Infantry Division to France on D-Day. He remained connected to veterans as a long time member of the Royal Canadian Legion.

Upon returning from the war, he became an employee of Consolidated Bathurst, where in 1947 he suffered a severe spinal injury. Through his determination, tenacity and contrary to medical prognosis, he learned to walk again. He developed a passi

on for golf as a young teenager and pursued many happy and successful years as a golfer at the Gowan Brae Golf & Country Club.