STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — Dorothy Doran was in her mid-20’s, and already a mother, when she started to lose her vision. She did not know it at the time, would not find out for many decades, but she had Stargardt disease, a rare condition caused by a genetic defect that deteriorates vision. Doran would eventually become legally blind.

Doran, who established the Staten Island Center for Independent Living, died on Nov. 19 at the age of 91.

Born in 1934, Doran was a fifth-generation Staten Islander who grew up in West Brighton and Rosebank. She was the only child of Francis X. Monahan, who worked for the health department, and Marie (née Treanor) Monahan, who worked as an administrator in the city courts.

Doran attended Curtis High School, where she was friendly with Jeb Magruder, who would la

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