Pictures and Memories of Sam

Sam and Spike.




Cow, Bob H and Sam at Noodletown in NYC.. Cow can comment more on the food that fine evening!

To all SamCeltarians,

I am Bonnie Dorr, daughter of "Sam".  My sister (Sandy) and I want to thank you for all the beautiful comments you've made on this site about our dad.  Wow, what a wonderful extended family.  Dad spoke very highly of this group.  He absolutely loved, and was proud of, his role in moderating it and sharing camaraderie with you all.

Our family is shocked and saddened by dad's passing.  We will miss him tremendously; a world without him seems so unimaginable to all of us, most centrally, his wife Sally--with whom we are very close.  He led a very rich life, spending a lot of his time corresponding with everyone whose life he touched, including (quite frequently) his two daughters and Phelan (our brother-by-guardianship).

It was that richness--and the copious correspondence--that allowed us to create an obituary that we felt would capture most of the essence of who he was.  You can see that in the Boston Globe.  I hope you will consider commenting in the Condolences section:

Obituary: http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/bostonglobe/obituary.aspx?n=richard-sargent-dorr-dick&pid=175671888&fhid=2813
Guest book: http://www.legacy.com/guestbooks/bostonglobe/richard-sargent-dorr-dick-condolences/175671888?cid=full

However, it was just after having submitted our final version of the obituary that we discovered he had written his own version (completed in March, 2015).  We found it among some other things he had written, but a day late.  I would like to share with all of you THAT version, as his love for the Celts is clearly a central component of who he was--and that is reflected in what he wrote.  I have included this below.

Please note that the version of the obituary that he wrote includes MSPCA at the bottom.  We knew his love for animals would draw him to something like this, and for the Globe we guessed Tufts Veterinary, which meant a lot to him.  But clearly MSPCA makes a whole lot of sense.  We may decide to distribute this as a part of the program on 9/12.

Speaking of which, we would be truly honored if any of you were able to come to the 9/12 event.  We will celebrate his life with videos and photos, including some never before seen publicly, e.g., one with Sam Jones and dad, back when we lived in Sam's home town of Sharon, MA.  If you are interested in attending, you will find details in the first Boston Globe link I provided above.

I have one request: Would those who posted photos featuring "Sam" on this site please provide a description of those photos? (Include names of people, location of event, date of event.)  If you would like to do this privately, would you channel responses through NYCelt?

Finally, I almost posted additional photos myself, but then chose not to do this.   I think the Globe announcement already has a very nice photo of dad, the way many of us remember him, and nothing will surpass those you all have already posted with respect to topical appropriateness and a clear presentation of his love for the members of this forum.

I am wishing you all the best, and would like to stay on this forum (thanks for welcoming me), to stay tapped into a community that was central to a person who meant so very much to me and my family.

Dad (Sam), I love you and will miss you.  Thanks for all that you brought to my life and to the lives of so many others in this world.

Suggested Obituary of Richard S. “Dick” Dorr

Richard S. (“Dick”) Dorr, (age) of Wellfleet, died on (DATE) of (CAUSE OF DEATH—IF SALLY THINKS IT’S APPROPRIATE).  He was the proud husband of Sarah (Sally) Cortes Dorr, father of Bonnie and Sandy Dorr, grandfather of Carissa and Ryan Dorson, and father-by-guardianship of Phelan Ferguson of Nassau, Bahamas.  A  description of his life would be incomplete without mention of his feline soul mate, Pumpkin.

Born in Boston to the late Faustina H. and Charles P. Dorr, and raised in Arlington, MA, Dick always considered himself a “Boston boy” with Arlington roots.  He was active in the planning of high school class reunions. In later years, he grew to love the town of Wellfleet, where he lived many years and served several terms as president of the Chequessett Yacht & Country Club and a Trustee of the Wellfleet Historical Society.

Dick received Bachelor of Science and Master of Business Administration degrees at Boston University and a Master of Arts degree at Boston College, majoring in statistics, marketing and sociology respectively.  He deeply loved his country and was particularly proud to have served in the U.S. Army Infantry, Military Police and Corps of Engineers, reaching the rank of First Lieutenant.

In 1969, Dick founded Dorr Research Corporation, a Boston-based marketing and social research firm that he (joined by Sally in 1979) operated for 45 years.  He co-authored a textbook entitled, “The Research Craft” and was a contributing author to another textbook entitled, “Aging and Society.”  He pioneered in the adaptation of social science depth interviews to the marketing research discipline and frequently spoke and wrote on that subject—often to national audiences.

Dick was an avid fan of the Boston Red Sox and Boston Celtics.  For several years, he operated a Boston Celtics computer message board, “Sam’s Celtics Forum.”  (Dick’s board name was “Sam.”)  He was extremely proud that the forum evolved into far more than a chat room, representing a worldwide “community” of good will, social camaraderie and mutual support.

Other than his family, Dick’s passions in life included animals, people, music, baseball, basketball, travel, writing and humor.  Early in life, he played the clarinet in numerous musical aggregations, including some solo work.  He had his own swing band at the age of 14.  But his favorite musical years were in his high school orchestra.

Dick and Sally collaborated in writing and publishing Paris Demystified—a book on how to bond and fall in love with the City of Light.  Besides Paris, Dick’s travel passions focused most on Nassau, Bahamas, and San Francisco.  He was born on the exact day on which the Golden Gate Bridge opened for business—May 28, 1937.

Dick felt he led an amazing life, and he could honestly claim never to have been unhappy for two consecutive days.  He credited Sally with transforming his life from ordinary to extraordinary.  His life’s motto, borrowed from John Jakes’ historical series, The Kent Family Chronicles, was “To take a stand and make a mark.”

Interment will be private.  A memorial service will be held at a later date to be announced.  In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals; 350 South Huntington Avenue; Boston, MA  02130.

I just got the note about Dick.  I was so lucky to find him and the rest of the group in the year of our post-Larry championship and to meet him when he came out west/SF. As an expat from Watertown the experience to hang with Celtics fans that were out here was great. Dick made me feel included among "real" experts who have encyclopedic know-how. I am still here on the Westcoast but I wanted to send along my thoughts and wishes.

I followed this discussion group from Boston.com and stupidly wrote my note calling Dick, Sam. He told me about the background regarding Sam Jones - it's been a long while - so much time has passed - again, I hope everyone in his circle is well. The game thread added so much to my understanding of the nuances of the game. Thanks again.

Very sad to hear about Dick's passing. A wonderful person.

bobc33 wrote:Sam and Spike.




Cow, Bob H and Sam at Noodletown in NYC.. Cow can comment more on the food that fine evening!

this was our second gathering, a Chinese food tribute dinner to Red, we talked non stop about hoops so intensely that other patrons were hearing us, especially Heckler and I shouting over each other a few times, food was incredible. I remember Sam ordering more roast pork and bobc33 ordering more roast duck....we inhaled the food that evening!!!

cowens/oldschool wrote:

bobc33 wrote:Sam and Spike.




Cow, Bob H and Sam at Noodletown in NYC.. Cow can comment more on the food that fine evening!

this was our second gathering, a Chinese food tribute dinner to Red, we talked non stop about hoops so intensely that other patrons were hearing us, especially Heckler and I shouting over each other a few times, food was incredible. I remember Sam ordering more roast pork and bobc33 ordering more roast duck....we inhaled the food that evening!!!

That's my left eye in the bottom pic in case anyone was wondering. At the last second, photographer remembered I was in the Witness Protection Program and couldn't be photographed eating pork in public.

Steve I tried and tried and tried to resize the photo to get you in but just couldn't make it work. Guess with you being in the "Program" it was fortunate I couldn't.

Pete, you nailed it ! (...as have others)

Dick was generous, engaging, unfailingly warm and attentive about others, and was completely genuine about it all. He was happy and his enthusiasm (for Whatever he was talking about) was infectious; it was impossible not to feel good around him.

I have a photo of a SCF get-together in Boston in 2010, but it's too blurry to bother to send in. Eager to meet whoever i could, I timed my summer trip back east to coincide with it. Only four of us made it but it was still great. Meeting people I'd been 'chatting' with for a couple of years was fun, but meeting Dick was a special treat !

Life got busy and i drifted away from the forum. He took the time to reach out and email me a couple of times to encourage me to check in and chime in, and i did briefly - the point is relationships mattered to him, people mattered and it was Always personal to him.

i'm so glad he left this forum as one of his legacies. it was a privilege and pleasure to know him.

Michael Kerrigan, Denver

Thx Pete. "Sam" always said that too !
which is why i stopped by, and hope i keep coming back ...

Great to hear a word from you Pete !

Michael, Denver

I had no idea Dick passed away. Sad to hear of it. I am not a frequent poster here, but I did get to know Dick a bit. When he came to the west coast he made it a point to let me know and we tried to have a lunch together. I will miss him.

Marcus and Sam from or original get together in the spring of 2008

Very nice Beat.

Great memories from that night as it was the first time I met a lot of Forum members, and of course that was the night I retired from basketball after young Marcus schooled me shooting hoops.

Beat,

That is so great to see!

My wife put those certificates together, for us to sign and give to Dick in appreciation for his hard work getting the event together and for being such a popular presence online at BDC.  The pictures she used at the bottom of the gift certificate are from his and Sally's friends' tavern, where our group sent them.  It was always a favorite stop of theirs.  Dick ended up hanging the signed certificate in their bedroom.  Amazing guy.

That was a great ride to Boston and back with you and Marcus. I'm not sure which of us was more unsure at first; me, picking up two strangers I'd never met, or you, getting into a strangers car with your son. It turned out just fine though, didn't it?

NYCelt. My wife thought I was nuts. We'll she was partially right but wrong about this. Had a great time

beat

Embarrassed to admit it has been quite some time since I have visited this wonderful site. I am equally stunned and sad to learn of Dick's passing. He, and many of you, welcomed me into various conversations on our beloved Celtics. Though I didn't post very often, I admired and respected Dick and all of you and your knowledge and love of the team and each other. My sincere condolences to his family and to all of you here. It was always a pleasure to read your wonderful stories and to feel a part of it all. Again, even though I never met him personally, I am very sorry for the loss of "Sam".

Thank you, Rosalie. Health issues, both mine and my husbands, got in the way of following you all. I was not able to quote statistics or recall this particular play or that. I just loved watching the Celtics (since high school, in the early 60's) and loved going to the "Gahden" sitting in the best seats in the house and the worst, going with friends or by myself! They were my team and still are. It is my hope to better follow along when the season begins again. Wishing you all well.