Madeline Dorsey

Madeline Beatrice Bunn Dorsey, 81, succumbed to bone cancer in Lafayette, Indiana on Tuesday, April 24, 2007. She was born on May 19, 1925, in Rocky Mount NC, to the late Elias Bunn, Sr. and Charity Bullock Bunn. She was the fourth of eight siblings who lived to adulthood. In Baltimore in 1940 at Dunbar High School, she met Harry Eugene Dorsey, Jr., whom she married in 1946. Before he pre-deceased her 1982, small business interests permitted them to travel together frequently. From this union, the couple had three sons: Joseph Carroll Dorsey of West Lafayette IN, Eric Eugene Dorsey, Sr. of Baltimore MD, and Leonard Patrick Dorsey, who passed away in 1994. In the work force, Madeline experienced three careers, though each was interrupted due to recurring illness. She trained for, and worked in, the high-fashion industry as a dress designer between the 1940s and 1950s. In 1956, she earned a degree in elementary education at Coppin State Teachers College. She taught grammar school and adult education for fourteen years in the Baltimore public school system. In the 1970s, she joined her husband as an employee with the U.S. Postal Service. For most of her adult life, she was a member of St. James Episcopal Church in Baltimore. In the course of her retirement, she enjoyed sewing, reading, writing, traveling, phone-chatting, and interacting with her progeny. Madeline was known for her kindness, generosity, and loyalty; her keen sense of humor; and her energetic professionalism. She was a devoted daughter, sister, wife, mother, grandmother, great grandmother, godmother, aunt, teacher, and friend, as well as a gifted dress designer whose services were always in demand. In this vein, she was an artist par excellence whose creative genius was second to none. With fondness and admiration, all who knew her will remember the strength of her faith in God, her inner beauty, her supportiveness, and her glowing, vivacious personality. She will be greatly missed. In innumerably positive ways, she touched the lives of many.Madeline leaves to mourn: two sons, Joseph and Eric; four grandchildren: Clifford Joseph Dorsey-Hall, Tasia Marie Dorsey, Eric Eugene Dorsey, Jr., and Jana Chinue Dorsey; two great grandchildren: Desirée Dorsey-Navedo and Jordan Dorsey-Molina; an elder brother, Elias Bunn, Jr.; god-daughters Saundra J. Bond, Cheryl Angela Hardison and Nattiel Smith Cooper; in-laws: Frank Bond, Sr., Elizabeth Gambrill Bunn, Donald Dorsey, Lillian Dorsey Allen, Janet Evelyn-Dorsey, and Charles Redd; and a host of nieces, nephews, cousins, and friends.

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Madeline Dorsey

May 19, 1925 - April 24, 2007