Matthew M. Doran

Matthew M. Doran, age 45, of Elkton, Maryland, formerly of Brick, New Jersey, died unexpectedly on Sunday, November 27, 2022. Matt is a beloved son, brother, uncle, and friend.

Matt, the King of Procrastination, a Ph.D. in Cognitive Psychology, graduated Brick Township High School in 1994.  He earned his Bachelor of Science from Ursinus College in 1998, his Master of Science from Villanova University in 2002, and his Doctor of Philosophy from University of Delaware in 2009. 

As an Adjunct Assistant Professor and then as a Visiting Assistant Professor of Psychology, Matt continued to teach and conduct research at UDEL using a variety of methods to measure attention span and memory, including programming the computer game Space Invaders to record and correlate eye focus with attention span.  During his time at UDEL, Matt authored and co-authored papers that he both presented at academic conferences and published.  Notably, he co-authored papers published in the peer-reviewed journals Child Development, Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, Visual Cognition, Developmental Science, and Attention, Perception, and Psychophysics.

After leaving UDEL, Matt worked as a Visiting Assistant Professor of Psychology at Franklin and Marshall College in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, where he especially enjoyed guiding students to select appropriate classes, a volunteer activity that included an extensive free lunch each day during the week of advising.  Sandwich Day was his favorite.

While in school, Matt worked in restaurant kitchens to support himself.  As a result, or perhaps in spite of his kitchen experiences, he cultivated a love of cooking.  He made and froze his own chicken stock, so that it would be on hand when needed.  Each year, he prepared an extensive Thanksgiving dinner in which all of the side dishes and the turkey were served hot, an amazing feat.  Matt made his own BBQ sauce “because Bobby Flay can do it.”   Matt concocted traditional baked beans in his much-desired Dutch oven, and he grilled with reckless abandon.  He was Master of Potato Salad, he made the snappiest sausages, and he shared the funniest impression of Julia Child.

Matt is survived by his parents, Linda of Bordentown, New Jersey, and Ken of Monroe Township, New Jersey, his stepmother, Lynn of Monroe Township, New Jersey, his sisters, Sarah of Telford, Pennsylvania and Amanda of Bordentown, New Jersey, his niece, Emma of Telford, Pennsylvania, his longtime friends, Eric Creveling of Whitehouse Station, New Jersey and Faith Benetz of Reading, Pennsylvania, aunts, uncles, and cousins.  Additionally, Matt was lucky enough to have a very special family of friends at his local hangout, Chili’s of Elkton, Maryland.  He was truly loved beyond comprehension and more than he knew.

The family will hold a celebration of life for Matt on a date TBD.

In lieu of flowers, please send donations in Matt’s name to: St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.  www.stjude.org  Or mail donations to: ALSAC/St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital 501 St. Jude Place Memphis, TN 38105.

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