Thomas F. Dorsey

On May 18, 2004, in East Lyme, CT, at the age of 78, after a long battle with cancer. He was the father of Jeffrey A. Dorsey of Sudbury, MA. Mr. Dorsey was born July 9, 1925 in New London, CT to Agnes and Michael J. Dorsey. He was Phi Beta Kappa and President of his class for two years at Brown University, where he earned a B.A. in English in 1948. At Brown, he was a stand-out football player who was an All-American running back and was chosen to play in the East-West Shrine game in 1947. He was drafted by the Chicago Cardinals and the Los Angeles Dons. Mr. Dorsey was an English Teacher for 39 years in all, at Salisbury School in CT, at Exeter in NH and at Waterford High School in CT. While English Dept. Chairman at Waterford, he successfully defended the school's and library's right to teach and read such books as "Catcher in the Rye" and "Grapes of Wrath" against two attempts by local groups to ban that literature in the late 1960's. As a football coach, he earned several honorary sports awards, including the O'Keefe Service Award from the National Football Foundation and Hall of Fame. Mr. Dorsey scored the SAT essay section in Princeton, NJ in the 1970's and 80's, and he coached his own SAT prep course for over 20 years. He is survived by his wife, Sylvia of East Lyme, CT; his son, Jeffrey, daughter-in-law Jamie Gaffney Dorsey and grandchildren Austin James and Taylor Ann, all of Sudbury; his daughter, Kristina of East Lyme, CT; and his sister, Marion Rogers, and her family of New London, CT. He was predeceased by a brother, Commander John M. Dorsey, USCG. Calling hours will be from Noon to 3 PM Sunday at Thomas L. Neilan & Sons Funeral Home, 48 Grand St., Niantic, CT. A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at Noon Monday at St. Matthias' Church on Chesterfield Road in East Lyme, followed by Burial at Union Cemetery on East Pattagansett Road in Niantic. In lieu of flowers, donations should be made to the Visiting Nurses Assoc., 61 Main St., Centerbrook, CT 06409; or to The Tom Dorsey Scholarship Fund at Salisbury School, 251 Canaan Road, Salisbury, CT 06068, Attn: Alumni Office, with checks payable to the Tom Dorsey Scholarship Fund.