James Livingston Dorsey

James Livingston Dorsey, 86, of Belmont passed away on April 9th. Jim was born and raised in Great Neck, NY, by his mother, Edna C. Jones (an artist and teacher), and father, Daniel A. (an attorney, who died when Jim was 10).   After earning his AB degree (magna cum laude) from Harvard in 1956, Jim joined the US Navy, serving for almost 4 years as an Air Intelligence Officer with the Naval Security Group stationed in the Philippine Islands and aboard USS Lexington and USS Bonhomme Richard.   He earned his MBA (with distinction) from Harvard Business School in 1963 and thereafter worked as Administrative Officer of MIT’s Center for International Studies, Budget Director at Boston University, and CFO at University Hospital.  He left the academic world to be a vice president at Damon Clinical Laboratories, the CFO at Community Care Systems, and co-founder and vice president of finance and operations at venture-capital funded Care One.  In 1985, Jim co-founded Cambridge Management Group, a national healthcare and medical education consulting firm, where he worked until his retirement in 2017. Through part of his career, Jim also taught management accounting in four different faculties at BU and continued his military service with the Naval Reserve.

In 1957, Jim married Marilyn (Rowley), also from Great Neck, NY.  They have lived in Belmont for 58 of their 63 years together, 47 of them in the same house. They have 4 children: Kathleen (Michael) LaScaleia of Sudbury; Sharon Walsh (with William Reynolds) of Woodstock, GA; Daniel (Diane) of Redmond, WA; and Thomas of Belmont. Jim was proud that each of his children graduated from Harvard College. He was equally proud of his 7 grandchildren: Matthew (with Kristin in East Boston) and Christopher (with Lauren in Philadelphia) Walsh; Katherine (Sudbury), Michael (Guilford, CT) and Andrew (Cambridge) LaScaleia; and EJ (Quinhagak, AK) and Samuel (Washington, DC) Dorsey. During his long residency in Belmont, Jim served on the Warrant Committee and as a Town Meeting Member.  His interests included woodworking, photography, and large, multi-generational family gatherings. He and Marilyn travelled extensively over the years; Jim claims the distinction of having visited all 7 continents.

Along with his immediate family, Jim is also survived by his older brother, Richard J. Dorsey and his wife, Patricia, of Old Chatham, NY, and by many nieces, nephews and cousins spanning 4 generations.

Funeral arrangements and burial were private.  In lieu of flowers, donations in Jim’s name can be made to The Greater Boston Food Bank at GBFB.org.

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