Doreen Koenig, 62, ‘helped out everybody'

By Ana Rodriguez Soto - The Archdiocese of Miami

PLANTATION | “The purest heart” has gone home to the Lord.

Doreen Koenig, a woman who spent her life sharing God’s blessings, died July 10 at the age of 62. She had been diagnosed with breast cancer in 2013.

For decades, Koenig and her husband, Keith, president and CEO of City Furniture, generously supported their parish, St. Gregory in Plantation; the Archdiocese of Miami; Holy Cross Hospital and Covenant House in Fort Lauderdale; Camillus House in Miami; and a number of other community organizations.

Keith Koenig described his wife as having “the purest heart of anybody I’ve met” in a 2008 interview with the Florida Catholic. He had been asked to name the person, living or deceased, whom he admired the most. He named Doreen, whom he married in 1978 at St. Anthony Church in Fort Lauderdale.

The Koenigs were the first recipients of the archdiocese’s One in Hope award in 2012. The award honors those who embody “the four infinitives of stewardship: receives God’s gifts gratefully; nurtures God’s gifts responsibly; shares God’s gifts justly and sacrificially; and returns God’s gifts abundantly.”

“There’s so many more worthy people than us,” Doreen Koenig said at the time.

Others would vehemently disagree.

“She was involved in so many community organizations,” said Donna Wells, director of development at St. Gregory Parish.

The Koenigs had been parishioners there for 40 years, and last year were honored as Grandparents of the Year by St. Gregory School. The letter announcing their selection stressed their “selfless dedication and zealous devotion” to both the church and the school.

“They’ve been involved in all aspects of the parish,” said Wells. “When Msgr. (Noel) Fogarty (former pastor) was there they were an integral part of helping us with the campaign for the remodeling of the church. Their children went to school there and now their grandkids are in our school. This is like the second time around.”

Wells noted that Doreen Koenig started raising funds for the American Cancer Society “maybe 30 years ago. She’s helped out everybody in the community.”

Koenig led the drive to build the Dorothy Mangurian Comprehensive Women’s Center, which opened in 2010 at Holy Cross. She came up with the idea of a “Girlfriend’s Club” to help raise the funds. The club consisted of women who pledged to donate $5,000 to the cause.

Afterward, she continued to raise funds for the center, so that its services � mammograms and medical check-ups � could reach women who otherwise could not afford them.

The Koenigs also hosted an annual golf and fishing tournament to benefit Covenant House, the Fort Lauderdale facility for runaway youths.

When asked in a DUO Magazine profile last year why they gave so much to charity, Keith Koenig answered, “Doreen says we share because we’re blessed. I think we’re blessed because we share.”

“I've known both Keith and Doreen as least as long as I've been a bishop � almost 18 years,” said Archbishop Thomas Wenski. “They both traveled with me for Pope Benedict's visit to Cuba three years ago. Keith had donated a bed for Pope Benedict's Cuban trip.”

The archbishop expressed his “deepest condolences to Keith, their children and grandchildren,” and added: “The Koenig family has been a faith-filled family and always surrounded by many good friends and associates. Grief is a heavy burden but with the support of friends and the strength of faith it is a burden that the Koenig family will not have to carry alone.”

In addition to her husband, Doreen Koenig is survived by their children: daughter Daren, son Andrew, and two grandchildren.

The viewing will take place Monday, July 13, from 4 to 8 p.m. at St. Gregory Church, 200 N. University Drive, Plantation. The funeral Mass will be celebrated Tuesday, July 14, at 10 a.m. at the church. Burial will follow at Our Lady Queen of Heaven Cemetery in North Lauderdale.