Sally Van Doren Dohm, 82, of Seaside Park, New Jersey, passed away on Oct. 25, 2025, in her home after a lengthy decline in her health.
Sally was born in Westfield, New Jersey on Aug. 28, 1943, to Emerson Maynard Van Doren and Jaqueline Hicks Van Doren (later of Darien; Seaside Park, New Jersey; and Vero Beach, Florida). Sally grew up in Darien and graduated from Darien High School, Class of 1962.
Sally Dohrn, 82, passed away on Oct, 25. The family will host a “celebration of life” in early summer.
Sally went on to earn a B.A. from Brown University (Pembroke University) in Providence, Rhode Island in 1966. She would meet Stanley Dohm of Princeton, New Jersey in Seaside Park during college summers, and they married in Darien in June of 1966.
The young couple moved to Ann Arbor, Michigan to attend graduate school at the University of Michigan. Sally briefly became a kindergarten teacher before having a family. In 1972, the family moved to Darien to raise their two daughters.
Sally and her husband Stan took over her father Emerson’s Darien Hardware, and later also launched Darien Cooking and Gifts and Fairfield Hardware.
Sally created and ran The Rainbow Shoppe in Darien in 1981. The store was a unique mix of gifts, party goods, and specialty dollhouse and miniature items. In 2008, Sally retired to her family’s Seaside Park house to enjoy the beach, swimming laps in the ocean, spoiling her dogs and growing tremendous flower gardens. In later years, she loved to watch the birds her garden attracted.
Sally is survived by her daughter, Wendy Dohm White, and husband, Robert White of Ipswich, Massachusetts; and her four grandchildren: Dr. Ryan White of Boston, Caroline White of Boston, Tyler White and Jenny White, both in college.
Sally is preceded in death by her daughter, Sandy Kathleen Dohm, parents Jaqueline and Emerson VanDoren, and her older brother, Barclay Van Doren. She is also remembered by Barclay’s wife, Janet, and their children, Clay and Cary.
Those who wish to honor Sally’s memory can leave a message, memory or photo at her memorial web page. The family will host a “celebration of life” in early summer, during Sally’s favorite time of the year.
— an obituary from Ocean County Cremation Service, where onlline condolences may be left, but her family suggests leaving them at her memorial web page.