John Phillip Dorsett

John Phillip Dorsett was born on December 20, 1938, in Arrey, New Mexico, and died suddenly after a long battle with Alzheimer’s Dementia in Albuquerque, New Mexico, with his loving partner and companion at his side on November 28, 2018, at their home. He died in the garden with the sun on his face. He was the son of Eloisa Milad Cameron Dorsett and is survived by three children, four grandchildren, and his long-time companion and partner, Charlotte, and her children.

Phil was a man of many interests and many skills, proficient as an editor, a talented photographer, expert target shooter and re-loader, an accomplished builder of computers, a history buff. He was widely read with a love of language and was trained in intelligence and nuclear ordinance work after joining the Marine Corps when he was 18. Stationed in such diverse places as Japan, Turkey, Cyprus, Scotland, and Germany among others, he reveled in seeing so much of the world. At one point, he even served on a submarine off the coast of Japan. The Marine Corps was his family in many ways, he said, and he valued the creed of honesty, trained skills, and devoted allegiance explicitly exemplified in the Marine Corps. Semper Fi. Generous to a fault, he helped many people and was especially proud of watching out for his troops. He served in Vietnam and during his 20-year service in the Corps, was promoted from Private to Lieutenant. He loved children and towards the end of his life, he delighted in chatting with children in the grocery store or on his walks. His love of cats and dogs was legendary. He loved watching the ravens float about, and his keen eye spotted elk, horned toads, and snakes hiding in the grasses, an occasional badger and deer. There was probably not a dog or cat that didn’t sidle up to him for petting. Having sung in high school in the chorus, he loved to sing and whistle throughout his life and his jazz collection was extensive.

His hardscrabble childhood taught him to sympathize with the less privileged and underdog. His love of books and reading widened his world and there wasn’t a car he couldn’t identify or hadn’t owned at one point. He grew up shuttled between a small farming village in Arrey, New Mexico, and Los Angeles, California, between Hispanic and Anglo cultures and he spoke Spanish fluently. He studied Hebrew for one year in Washington, DC, before leaving for duty in Cyprus. He reconnected after 47 years with his companion, Charlotte, whom he had met in Turkey years before in 1961 when they were 17 and 22. The last 12 years they enjoyed together again.

A good friend to many, he was respected and loved by so many. Throughout his ordeal with memory and physical loss, he retained a keen sense of humor and graciousness of spirit. His generosity was legendary. His presence will be sorely missed by those who knew him even so slightly. He was a beautiful man, a joyous man. As one of his friends recently said, “he was an amazing man and he won a spot in my heart.”

A Celebration of Life will be announced at a later date. In lieu of flowers, a donation to Save the Children, www.savethechildren.org,  or a donation to the Marine Corps “Toys for Tots” would have pleased him.