BOONTON — Former State Senator John Dorsey, 80, passed away on Sunday, December 16. Dorsey grew up in Boonton and graduated from Yale University and Yale Law School. He served six years in the U.S. Army Reserves, and was an Assistant Morris County Counsel.
Dorsey was born on December 26, 1937, in Newark and resided in Boonton Township. In the 1977 elections, Dorsey faced incumbent Democrat Stephen B. Wiley, who had been one of the prime sponsors of the Public School Education Act of 1975, which expanded state aid to public school districts. Dorsey had served in the Assembly on the Taxation Committee and was an opponent of the state income tax bill that Wiley had supported.
The Morris County Board of Chosen Freeholders offer their deepest sympathy to the family of former state Senator John Dorsey. We concur with the message posted on his law firm’s website (Dorsey & Semrau in Boonton), which reads, “Mentor, Friend, Attorney and Public Servant.”
Senator Dorsey was a dedicated public servant who loved his state and county and put his strong imprint on state government during his 18 years in the Legislature, serving in the State Assembly from 1976 to 1978 and in the state Senate from 1978 to 1994.
He also provided legal services to Morris County numerous municipalities, with especially long service to Parsippany-Troy Hills, Rockaway Township, Hanover and Mount Olive townships, and government agencies, including the Morris County Municipal Joint Insurance Fund.
Senator Dorsey will be missed by his colleagues in the legal and political community to whom he long offered his wisdom and knowledge. The Board of Freeholders regret his passing and offer our condolences to his family and friends.
Relatives and friends are invited to visit at the Dangler, Lewis & Carey Funeral Home, 312 West Main Street, Boonton on Friday, December 21 from 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.
There will be a service at St. John’s Church, 226 Cornelia St, Boonton, on Saturday, December 22 at 11:00 a.m. followed by interment at Whitehall Methodist Church Cemetery, Towaco.
