James Richard "Jim" Dorsey, age 92, died Tuesday, March 5, 2024, at the Ohio Eastern Star Home in Mount Vernon, Ohio. Jim was born May 19, 1931, in Cincinnati, Ohio. Jim was preceded in death by his parents Stanley and Virginia (Powell) Dorsey, his wife Nancy (Dunton) Dorsey, and his brothers Don (Marilyn) Dorsey and Jon Dorsey. Jim is survived by daughter Allison Dorsey (Dan Gordon), son Jay Dorsey (Beth Waller) and grandsons Max Dorsey-Gordon (Katie Schaub) and Sam Dorsey-Gordon, and great granddaughter Wilda.

Jim was raised in the Kennedy Heights neighborhood of Cincinnati before the family moved to Blanchester, Ohio, in 1946 when his father, Stanley, purchased a pharmacy with funds provided by the GI Bill. Jim graduated from Blanchester High School in 1949 and earned his degree from the Ohio State University College of Pharmacy in 1954. While at OSU, Jim was a member of the Varsity Lacrosse Team (1953, 1954), a member of the Phi Gamma Delta fraternity, and a ROTC. Jim served two years at the Brook Army Medical Center in Texas from 1954 to 1956. Jim and Nancy married May 21, 1955.

From 1956 to 1982, Jim and Nancy lived in Blanchester, Ohio where Jim co-owned, then owned, and operated Dorsey Drugs pharmacy. During this time, Jim was involved in many civic and social organizations including the Blanchester School Board, Blanchester Chamber of Commerce, Grace United Methodist Church, Rotary, Boy Scouts, American Legion, Clinton County Board of Health, Ohio Pharmacists Association, and OSU Alumni Advisory Council.

Jim and Nancy immersed themselves in African culture (not as missionaries) by moving to a small village outside the Tanzanian capital of Dar Es Salaam where they lived from 1983 to 1985, and again 1990-1991. During both stays Jim taught pharmacy community practice at the University of Dar Es Salaam. In-between stays in Africa, Jim sold the drugstore in Blanchester, and they moved to Columbus where Nancy pursued her PhD at OSU.

From 1986 to 1990 Jim worked for Super Val, a pharmacy cooperative formed to improve the buying power of independent pharmacies. During the 1990s, Jim served as Director of Professional Services with Pharmacy Data Management, Inc., managing network operations and client interactions, and provided support in prescription plan analysis, client support and marketing for Pharmaceutical Horizons. Jim won the 1994 Bowl of Hygeia from the Ohio Pharmacists Association for his many contributions to the pharmacy profession in Ohio.

From 1995 to 1999, Jim and Nancy lived in Kampala, Uganda where Jim guest lectured at Makerere University College of Pharmacy and served as a program coordinator for Habitat for Humanity, and Nancy taught in the Department of Women and Gender Studies at Makerere University in Kampala, Uganda.

As Jim and Nancy "retired" to their Columbus home, they still had many adventures, including three years on the road seeing new parts of the US in their RV. Jim was a regular on the Tuesday Habitat for Humanity Crew in Columbus and treasured his involvement as chorus singer and props man with Vaud-Villities. Throughout their lives together, Jim and Nancy opened their home to international students and other young, and not so young, people to provide a stable, loving environment when it was needed.

Jim was a quiet, kind, loving, loyal, hard-working, service-minded, civic-minded, sports-loving (especially OSU Buckeyes!) gentleman.

Visitation will be Thursday, March 14, 2024, from 4:00-6:00 PM at Tufts-Schildmeyer Funeral Home in Blanchester, Ohio. Following the visitation, there will be food and fellowship at Blanchester Grace United Methodist Church for those who would like to share memories about Jim.

In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to Habitat for Humanity or Blanchester Grace United Methodist Church.