Dr. John B. Dorian's Obituary
Dr. John B. Dorian, age 95, passed away peacefully in his sleep on July 2, 2021. He was a loving father, grandfather, great-grandfather, uncle, cousin and friend.
Arrangements have been entrusted to Memorial Park Funeral Home and Cemetery, 5668 Poplar Avenue in Memphis. Family will receive friends at the funeral home on Monday, July 12 from 6-8 p.m. A Funeral Mass will be held Tuesday, July 13 at 10:00 a.m. at St. Francis of Assisi, 8151 Chimney Rock Blvd. Interment will be private.
John was the first baby born at St. Joseph Hospital in Memphis in 1926. Growing up in the Lauderdale Courts, “Johnny,” along with his siblings Catherine and Paul, spent his childhood playing corkball, marbles, and riding bikes.
After graduating from Sacred Heart High School, he joined the Army, serving with the 1139th Engineer Combat Group, part of Patton’s 3rd Army. Upon his discharge in 1946, he enrolled in pre-med on the GI Bill at UT Knoxville. While there, he met and married Sarah Galyon. During their 19 year marriage, they had six children. After medical school in Memphis, he began his practice as a Family Physician. In 1957 he opened Frayser Clinic, where he practiced for over 30 years and became a mainstay of the Frayser community. A natural teacher, he then went on to mentor future doctors as an Assistant Professor in the Family Practice Residency Program at UT.
Over the years, he served as president of both the Memphis/Shelby County Medical Society and the Tennessee Medical Association, was appointed to several positions with the American Medical Association, and was named Family Practitioner of the Year in 1972. One of his proudest accomplishments was the creation of the Impaired Physicians Committee to address alcohol and drug dependency among physicians first, then later expanding to other professions. The program’s success has made a lasting impact on many medical professionals. In addition, John served the Poor Clare nuns at The Monastery of St. Clare as their physician for years. After 50 years of practice, John retired in 2002.
John filled his retirement with volunteer work at St. Vincent de Paul soup kitchen and St. Jude Children’s Hospital. An avid golfer, he was a member of Colonial Country Club for 59 years. He was part of a weekly Thursday afternoon game for over three decades, and after retirement he played several times a week with some of his best friends. He also enjoyed his card games after lunch at the club. He created a nature area dubbed “Colonial Woods,” complete with trails, a pond stocked with catfish, and a picnic area.
One of the St. Louis Cardinals’ biggest fans, he attended games over eight decades, first at Sportsman’s Park, driving up from Memphis in the morning, sleeping in the car till game time and driving back home afterwards. He later took his sons to games at Busch Stadium. A bucket list item was fulfilled when he attended the 2004 World Series with his grandson. Adventurous till the end, he made his second tandem parachute jump at age 90.
John instilled a love of travel in his children, beginning with yearly trips to Florida. They also shared adventures in several national parks on RV trips out west. John treated his children to travels throughout Europe and Africa and traveled around the world twice. He visited every continent.
He is survived by his six children and their spouses: Chris of Memphis, Steve (Virginia) of Memphis, Teresa of Knoxville, Jeannine Vesser (Mark) of St. Louis, Pat of Memphis, and Jennifer Buckner (Kenny) of Memphis.
He was the proud grandfather of eight: Ben Vesser (Melissa), Elyse Vesser (Derek), Katherine Dorian, James Dorian, Alex “Bucky” Buckner, Jack Buckner, Isabella Dorian and Emily Dorian, and great grandfather of two: Benjamin and Anna Vesser.
His humor, guidance and stories will be missed greatly by his children, grandchildren, his cousin Joyce and many nieces and nephews.
The family wishes to thank the staff of Hearthside Senior Living and Memphis Jewish Home for their compassionate and professional care of John during the past months.
In lieu of flowers, the family asks that memorials be made to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital at
https://fundraising.stjude.org/site/TR/GiftFunds/GiftFunds?px=2169440&pg=personal&fr_id=39300
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