IN MEMORIAM: Barbara Dorsey, 88;

Calling Hours Today For Mother Of 4

COOPERSTOWN – Barbara Fort Dorsey, 88, who retired to Cooperstown in 1991 with her late husband, John, died peacefully Friday, Dec. 18, 2015, at Bassett Hospital, surrounded by her family. 

Calling hours are today and the funeral Monday.

Born March 14, 1927, in Utica, Barbara was the only child of Margaret (McKenny) William Lapham Fort.

Raised in Douglaston, Queens, she studied English at Marymount College in Tarrytown. She married John David Dorsey June 10, 1950, in St. Anastasia Church in Douglaston. The couple raised a family in Ridgewood, N.J., where they lived for four decades.

Barbara moved to Cooperstown in 1991, a community she proudly adored. She resided on Nelson Avenue and more recently at The Clara Welch Thanksgiving Home. She was a devoted parishioner of St. Mary’s Roman Catholic Church, where she was a Eucharistic Minister and a member of the Bereavement Committee and the (St.) Mary Widows.

She was a volunteer at Bassett Hospital and belonged to the Glimmerglass Opera Guild, the Women’s Club of Cooperstown and the Dinner Belles. She was also an active member of the Daughters of the American Revolution and the Princeton Club of New York.

Barbara was an avid tourist, travelling widely in Europe and Asia.  She was a lover of animals, making a home for many a needy feline, one of whom, Pippen, was locally famous for her escapades. She was a lifelong fan of the New York Yankees.

Above all, Barbara devoted her life to her cherished family. She is survived by her four children, Jean Dorsey Cramer and her husband, William, of Cooperstown, Meg Dorsey of Auburn, Calif., John Fort Dorsey and his wife, Kara, of Cornwall and Amy Dorsey of Fort Collins, Colo.; her six grandchildren, Samuel Cramer, Matthew Cramer, Elizabeth Cramer, Alex Roehrkasse, Maria Roehrkasse, and Julia Thorbjornsen; and her two great grandchildren, Zoë Cramer and Benjamin Cramer.

She was predeceased by her husband, John.

Visitation hours are 4-6 p.m. today at at Connell, Dow & Deysenroth Funeral Home.  A funeral mass will be at 10 a.m. Monday at St. Mary’s.

In lieu of flowers, please send donations to the Susquehanna Animal Shelter, 4841 State Highway 28, Cooperstown, NY  13326.