George Townsend Dorrill

George Dorrill, 30-year professor of English at Southeastern Louisiana University, passed away on Friday, July 13, 2018, at Richard Murphy Hospice House.  At his side was his wife of 47 years, Masako Dorrill.

George was born to Henry Townsend and Beatrice Corbett Dorrill on August 27, 1942, in Orangeburg, South Carolina.  After graduating from the high school in 1960, he pursued his Bachelor’s in Philosophy at Catholic University in Washington, DC, graduating in 1964.  George served in the Peace Corps in Iran from 1967-1969, and then taught English in Japan, where he met Masako, and in Greece, where he and Masako married in 1970.  At the University of South Carolina, he completed his Master’s in English in 1975 and in 1982 his doctorate with specializations in Dialectology and English Literature.  From 1974-1982, his expertise in linguistics was enhanced by his work on the Linguistic Atlas of the Middle and South Atlantic States.  After teaching at Winthrop College for three years, George came to Southeastern in 1986 and retired in 2016.  Hundreds of English Education majors took his linguistics and grammar courses as they prepared for teaching careers.  He also taught composition and Honors literature courses.

George is survived by his wife, by his nephew Scott Edwin Dorrill and his niece Catherine Anne Kelly and their families, and by his brother-in-law Toshihiro Amekura.  He was predeceased by his parents and by his brothers Henry and James.

Visitation will be at Harry McKneely & Son Funeral Home, 2000 N. Morrison, Hammond, from 5:00-8:00 p.m. on Tuesday, July 17.  On Wednesday at St. Albert’s Catholic Center, 409 West Dakota, Hammond, visitation will begin at 8:00 a.m., with the funeral mass at 9:00.  Interment will follow at Saint Joseph Abbey in Covington.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be sent to St. Albert’s or to the English Club/Sigma Tau Delta Chapter at the SLU English Department, SLU 10861, Hammond, LA 70402.

To view and sign the family guest book, please visit www.harrymckneely.com.