Mitch Dorson was my friend. Judging by the amazing turnout at his memorial service the other night, that doesn’t make me all that special, numerically speaking, but I sure felt special when I was around him. He was an incredible person and a Tucson treasure.
Mr. Dorson died suddenly a couple of weeks ago, and it left a gaping hole in the community. (As a longtime coach, I never address—or refer to—teachers or parents by their first names. In all the time I knew him, I never once called him “Mitch.”)
He was born in New York City, but grew up in Tucson. His family ran Dorson’s Furniture, a local fixture for nearly a half-century before it closed in 2000. He graduated from Tucson High School, where he had been a yell leader, complete with an Archie Andrews-style megaphone. He got a degree in journalism from the University of Arizona, did graduate work at the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton University, and then worked for Common Cause in Washington, D.C., before coming back to Tucson to stay.
I was an admirer of Mr. Dorson before I ever met him. While he was teaching history at Catalina Foothills High School, he became embroiled in an ugly controversy. A kid was up for a scholarship from the Flinn Foundation. This is a mega-scholarship that pays for everything as long as the recipient attends one of Arizona’s universities; it even pays for the kid to travel abroad during the summer. It’s a feather in the cap of any school or district to have a Flinn scholarship winner.
Unfortunately, the kid was in Mr. Dorson’s history class, and Dorson was certain that the kid had cheated. He felt that the Flinn Foundation people should know, but the school district disagreed. Dorson went to the media, and then some bureaucrat in the superintendent’s office reported Dorson to the state Department of Education for “unprofessional conduct.”
Dorson resigned, and Catalina Foothills’ enormous loss was Green Fields’ gain. The kids universally raved about him, even though he was hard on them and their respective grade-point averages. He set extremely high classroom standards, even for Green Fields, which is one of the toughest academic schools in the state. It became common knowledge that a B in Mr. Dorson’s class was like an A-plus anywhere else.
His interactive style was perfect for Green Fields, where there are usually only eight or nine kids in each classroom. He would hold passionate debates and have the kids stage mock Senate hearings on various issues.
He and I hit it off immediately. We bonded over books, sports and politics. His favorite political leader had been Bobby Kennedy, and when I told him that as a teenage “precinct worker,” I had been at the Ambassador Hotel the night Kennedy was shot, he got emotional.
Over the years, I gave him lots of books, and he read them all. He even used a part of my favorite book, Richard Rhodes’ Pulitzer Prize-winning The Making of the Atomic Bomb, in his class. I spoke to him just a couple of days before he died. I had just gotten The Passage of Power, the latest in the multivolume biography of LBJ. He said that he was going to get it, and that after we both had read it, we could compare notes.
He would always show up at my girls’ team’s basketball games, often with his megaphone. He’d loudly sing the national anthem (way off key) and then root for the kids. He’d even travel to our games in St. David and Benson. He’d also come to practice sometimes and just shoot free throws at a side basket.
Whenever I’d buy my kids T-shirts for winning a summer league or, like this past season, going undefeated in regular-season games, I’d always get one for Mr. Dorson. He’d wear them to school and always wore them with pride. I’ve been thinking of having my leading scorer, Olivia (who is an amazing artist), paint a picture of Mr. Dorson on the wall behind the top of the bleachers where he would always sit. That way, he’ll be with us in the gym forever.
When I attended the memorial in his honor at the Jewish Community Center, I was stunned. The huge auditorium filled up quickly, and people just kept on coming. They had to open an adjoining room, and there was still an overflow, standing-room-only crowd.
Tucson Mayor Jonathan Rothschild told me that when he was in the second-grade, Mr. Dorson was his religion-class teacher. “Mitch was always so engaged, so enthusiastic. And he always knew his stuff,” the mayor said.
Mr. Dorson’s integrity, passion and willingness to go out on a limb for what he knew was right was (and should remain) an inspiration to us all. One of the few things I’ve done consistently right in my life is tell people how important they are to me before they’re gone. I’m pretty sure he knew, but it’s still not enough.
I miss him a lot. And for the rest of my life, when I go to buy a book, I’m going to wonder whether Mr. Dorson would have liked it.
This article appears in May 24-30, 2012.
Those of us in the Tucson Jewish community and those of us in the Green Fields community [I count myself as a member of both communities] miss Mitch very much. The Jewish high holidays at our temple will not be the same this year; nor will the first day of school at GF. I know that there will be a large hole when I attend the first girls basketball game this fall. Thank you, Tom, for eulogizing Mitch and capturing his essence. He was a very special individual, he will be greatly missed, and we are diminished by his absence. He truly embodied the Yiddish word “mensch”.
Mitch and I went to different high schools but met when we were on some high school city wide committee for something or other. We became friends who saw each other now and then thru the rest of high school and at the UofA. He was a gracious, intelligent, funny, nerdy guy. I always enjoyed his company. We saw each other rarely over the years, but when we got together at some function it was all laughs and smiles. Mr Danehy…we will both miss him. He was indeed, a Tucson treasure.
I admire special educators for they help our social order be more compassionate, understanding and curious. Rest in peace Mr. Dorson and thank you for being a true hero!
A nice eulogy Tom. I never had an opportunity to know Mitch Dorson, but he certainly sounds like the kind of teacher any would wish to have. R.I.P.
Another of the great teachers has gone too soon to his reward. I knew him through the years and always admired his fervor, passion, and thorough approach to what he did. What a loss!
A Darling and Wonderful Man. Beautiful article befitting our Mitcheleh. He would be, and perhaps is, honoured! He was my Principal when i taught holocost at Temple Emanu’El. i couldna done it at all without him. He helped me shine out that Light we sometimes access to those kids. He was a Flashlight with a megafone. Thanks Mr. Danehy. Rivka
As is my custom, I like to send a donation in memory of someone close to me who has recently passed. I particularly like to make a gift that I know would be welcomed by my friend. To honor Mitch Dorson, I made a donation to Green Fields Country Day School. Hopefully CFGDS will receive other contributions and can establish a scholarship or social action project in his name that will keep his legacy alive. If you are interested in an educational tax credit, this could also be a great opportunity to remember Mitch. Green Fields is registered with the state and can receive donations for the credit. Think about it…
My son was lucky enough to have Mr. Dorson as a teacher in History and Government and he was my son’s favorite teacher. History was never a favorite subject for my son until having Mr. Dorson as a teacher. My son would come home every single day and talk about history, every day! Mr. Dorson was an awesome human being and an awesome teacher who truly cared for every single student. He will be truly missed by all who were lucky enough to meet him.
I was privileged to know Mitch in DC when he was working for Common Cause. He was the leader of my Jewish youth group at Temple Sinai. I loved him, and found him exactly as you describe him in this piece. I lost track of him and only now found his address while going through my mother’s address book after she died this year also. Thanks for writing this. I am glad he was as loved in Tucson as he was in DC. If you are still in touch with his family, know that many many people were transformed because of knowing Mitch.
Loren Scherbak
Rockville MD