Iota Phi Theta founder Elias A. Dorsey Jr. has died
Elias Augustus Dorsey Jr., one of the 12 founders of Iota Phi Theta Fraternity, Inc., passed away early this morning from complications related to pancreatic cancer. He was 69.
“It’s a sad day in our organization as we remember Founder Elias Dorsey,” 20th International Grand Vice-Polaris John Scott said. “On behalf of our Grand Polaris, Karl Price, Esq., we ask that all brothers and sweethearts take time during this hour of grief and reflect upon our Founder and our great organization. Please continue to pray for his family and friends. We certainly honor this great man for not only being a Founder of Iota Phi Theta Fraternity, Inc., but for being our brother and our friend. He will truly be missed.”
Born and raised in Baltimore, Dorsey, better known as “Tink,” didn’t see the value of joining a fraternity when he enrolled at Morgan State College (now university) in 1960. But on Sept. 19, 1963, while he and Iota’s 11 other founders talked about the other fraternities at Morgan and the times that surrounded them, he believed that an organization like Iota was needed.
Dorsey became known as the “Godfather of Iota” because he wasn’t always visible but was there when needed, said Founder John D. Slade.
“He was always behind the scenes but if you called on him he was there to help,” he said.
Dorsey, though not present at every fraternity conference, was involved with the organization’s Board of Directors and National Iota Foundation. He was instrumental in helping to save the fraternity headquarters, even using his own money to replace basement windows that were broken by vandals.
Dorsey spent his professional career in health services, having served as the Deputy Commissioner of Health for the City of Baltimore. There, he was well liked due to his firm-but-fair demeanor, said Founder Lonnie C. Spruill Jr., who knew Dorsey since they were kids growing up near Baltimore’s Pamlico Race Track.
“He became like a big brother at first, and as we matured, we became like equals,” Spruill said during the fraternity’s Summer Leadership Conference earlier this month. “Tink, if I gave him a nickname to something relative that people could understand, I would call him ‘The Quiet Storm.’ He was quiet, he didn’t like the limelight, but when he went off, he erupted. Or if you needed something done, he was the one to go to. And he’d know when you needed help.”
Spruill spoke emotionally about Dorsey during the conference, which took place July 14-17 in Houston. Spruill, who often visited Dorsey while he was hospitalized, initially felt guilty about going to Houston due to sick founder’s condition. But Dorsey told him that he was feeling better and that he would soon start chemotherapy. He didn’t want others to know how sick he really was, Spruill said.
“I needed to share that with the guys otherwise I would blow up,” he said. “I had this guilty feeling that I wasn’t there with him. I know there’ nothing I can do and that God’s with him. I feel so much better now. And I wanted them to realize how bad this dude is. What a real Iota…how Iotas deal with death as much as life. Protecting the loved ones to the end.”
Dorsey was resting at the Gilchrist Hospice Care in Towson, Md. when he passed. Along with founders Charles Briscoe and Webster Lewis and other deceased brothers, Dorsey now joins the fraternity’s Alpha Iota Omega Memorial Chapter. He leaves behind a son, Jason; daughter, Kim; sister, Cathy; and three grandchildren, all of Baltimore.
Information regarding funeral arrangements will be shared once they are completed.
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Sergio