Class: 1963
Residence: Minneapolis, MN
Deceased: August 27, 2012
Alumni survivors: Ms. Jeanine A. Dorfman ’90 (Child), Mr. Aaron C. Dorfman ’92 (Child)
From an obituary in the Minneapolis Star Tribune, 8/29/12
The Reverend Mary Carolyn Dorfman of Minneapolis, Minnesota died on Monday, August 27 at age 70. Known to her friends as Carrie, Rev. Dorfman was a pioneer for women in ordained ministry.
During her long career, she served her community in many ways. She was a chaplain at Minnesota Correctional Facility for Women, and at a nursing home, provided spiritual direction counseling, ran a retreat center and led highly-regarded study groups about cosmology. At St Luke Presbyterian Church, she helped lead efforts to promote sustainability and permaculture gardening.
Carrie was also known for officiating deeply-moving weddings and other sacred services. Carrie loved connecting with people-all people. Her children, their partners, and her grandchildren provided a source of great joy for her. She created a lush garden at her city home, filled with fruits, vegetables, and flowers, and invited neighborhood children to “graze” when they walked by.
She devoted her life to a continuing spiritual quest, worked with faith communities in pursuit of peace and social justice, and was part of important movements to challenge the church to evolve on issues of gender and sexual orientation. She showed great strength, grace and peace at the end of her life, despite a very unexpected and rapid decline.
Carrie was born September 1, 1941 near Montreal, Canada and moved to Minneapolis in 1950 and then to Northfield, Illinois in 1955. She attended New Trier Township High School in Winnetka, Illinois, Carleton College in Northfield, Minnesota, and United Theological Seminary of the Twin Cities. She lived the majority of her adult life in Shorewood, Minnesota. She moved to Minneapolis 6 years ago to live in community with her daughter’s family.
She was preceded in death by her husband, Thomas Dorfman, who died in 1987, by her parents, Mary and Vincent Flett, and by her brother, Bruce Flett. She is survived by her children, Jeanine Dorfman (Teri Homan) and Aaron Dorfman (Geneen Massey) and her grandchildren, Joshua and Lillian. And also by a large extended family to whom she meant so much.
As Carrie has donated her body for study at the University of Minnesota, a memorial service (no viewing) will be held at St. Luke Presbyterian Church at 3121 Groveland School Road, Wayzata, MN 55391 at 3 p.m. on Thursday, August 30. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations to St. Luke, Headwaters Foundation for Justice, or Minnesotans United for All Families.
Read an additional obituary from the Metro South edition of the StarTribune, September 1, 2012.
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