Tom Dorsey

Born January 18, 1958, in Spokane, Washington, to Tom and Marilyn Dorsey, Tommy Allen (TA) Dorsey passed away on Monday, March 22, 2021, at home in Liberty Lake, Washington, surrounded by his family. He was diagnosed with a glioblastoma in June 2020.

When Tom was young, his family lived in Rocky Point at Lake Coeur d'Alene. This instilled a love of lakes and boating in Tom. For most of his childhood, Tom was raised in Tekoa, Washington. In his early days, he was very involved in Cub Scouts and Boy Scouts with his good friend Jeff Kimble. Their troop was led by Tom Dorsey Sr., Tom's dad. Tom rode snowmobiles all of his life and competitively raced motocross for Kawasaki in high school. He was a three-sport athlete at Tekoa High School, but he mostly loved driving his beloved Camaro around Whitman County.

Tom attended Washington State University. He met his wife Erin Boyle (Dorsey) her first week of college at WSU, where she was a member of Pi Beta Phi sorority. In their 37-year marriage, Tom and Erin had countless adventures together. They spent weekends on their houseboat on Lake Coeur d'Alene in their 20s, vacationed in Maui over the years, and enjoyed many summer days together at Priest Lake, Idaho.

Tom was a die-hard Coug and a proud member of the Acacia Fraternity. Over the past ten years, beginning when their daughter was studying at WSU as a proud third-generation Coug, Tom and Erin hosted tailgates at WSU home games with their good friends Jean McMullan and Tom and Lori Leacy. He remained very active with the Acacia Alumni Association. For many years, Tom participated in an annual horseback trip in the Pasayten Wilderness with his Acacia Fraternity brothers, John Byrne, Chuck Dreifus, Tom Nordstadt, Jed Morris, Jeff Slothower, and Scott Valley.

After attending WSU, Tom worked as a third-generation Chevrolet dealer at Dorsey Chevrolet, which was founded by his grandfather, Walt Dorsey, in 1925. After Dorsey Chevrolet closed, he went to work at Becker Buick and Camp Chevrolet as a Truck Manager. An entrepreneur at heart, Tom owned a variety of small businesses. For the past eight years, Tom was a business partner with his dear friend, Terry Tombari at Tombari Properties, serving as a real estate property manager. He continued this work with Terry and Dave Black of NAI Black his final year.

Tom loved Priest Lake. At Priest Lake, Tom taught his daughter, Delaney, how to ride motorcycles and snowmobiles, drive and dock boats and jet skis, and target shoot. He spent his summers boating to Hill's, Elkins, and Cavanaugh Bay, working on the family cabin, and riding motorcycles with his nephew Hank Whitman. Winter weekends were spent on Priest Lake snowmobile trails with his good friend Jack Toepfer. He also traveled to Cooke City, Montana, annually to snowmobile. Tom was a kid at heart and loved to have fun. He was notorious for his Uncle Tom adventures at Priest Lake with his daughter, future son-in-law, nieces, and nephews, which typically included camping on one of the islands or trekking up one of the many mountains by motorcycle. One of Tom's most recent adventures was driving Route 66 with Delaney in his Chevy Camaro in August 2019. Tom and Erin loved to travel to visit Delaney when she lived in Philadelphia, Washington D.C., and Belfast, Northern Ireland. A man of deep faith, he was a member of the Men's Bible Study Fellowship.

Tom is survived by his wife, Erin Dorsey; daughter, Delaney Dorsey; future son-in-law, Jeffrey Dabundo; father, Tom W. Dorsey; sister, Dana Dorsey; stepsister, Kim Waltman (Tim); in-laws: Tara Ryan (John), Brendan Boyle (Tricia), Kathleen Boyle; nieces & nephews: Cassidy Hale, Fallon Hale, McKenzie Yates (Taylor), Conner Boyle, Kasey Boyle, Abby Boyle & Hank Whitman; his honorary niece, Taylor McMains (Derek) & honorary nephew, Spencer Tombari; and of course, his beloved dog, Koda Dorsey. He was preceded in death by his mother, Marilyn Dorsey.

This summer there will be a Celebration of Life at Priest Lake and a WSU Memorial Tailgate in the fall. In place of flowers, please consider sending a memorial gift to the WSU Chapter Fund at the Acacia Fraternity Foundation, 12721 Meeting House Rd., Carmel, Indiana 46032, or to the charity of your choice. To share memories or leave condolences for the family, visit http://www.hennesseyvalley.com.