Herbert "Dorsey" Atkinson

Dorsey Atkinson was born on January 6, 1934, in Exeter, California. He was the youngest child of Andrew Joseph Atkinson and Mary Elizibeth Atkinson. Dorsey s older sisters were Margeret Walsch and Anna Savage.
Dorseys child hood was spent in Exeter, working on the family citrus, peach, plum and walnut ranches.He enjoyed summer weekends at the Atkinson's Wilsonia cabin with his family and spending time with horses on pack trips. He attended Exeter Union High School and was a letterman fourteen times in four sports. Dorsey continued onto Stanford University in 1952 where he played football and rugby. The latter team gave him the nickname "golden toe for his ability to convert place kicks. He was a member of Alpha Tau Omega and was active in following Stanford athletics throughout his lifetime. He met his college sweetheart, Nancy Inglis Atkinson, at the wedding of two mutual friends. They married in Piedmont, California in August of 1956; the beginning of a beautiful 66-year bond. They temporarily relocated to Tennessee after Dorsey was dratted into the 101* Air borne where he parachuted out of planes and was a member of the All Airborne Football Team. After the service and college the couple was able to establish their roots in Exeter, California. Nancy always said she was a "Big City Girl" who married "The Farm" In high school Dorsey helped organize the first 4-h Club in Exeter and served as its president as well as his high school senior class vice president. He continued his community service as an adult as the EUHS Booster Club president, Kiwanis Club president, Presbyterian Church elder as well as a long-time member many other education and community clubs. He also led farming business organizations such as Sierra Citrus Association as a director and Cling Peach Association as a district delegate. Dorsey continued his love of sports by playing golf, tennis, water skiing and snow skiing. He especially got a thrill from watching his three sons compete in a multitude or sports. His farming career gave him flexibility to never miss a game. This continued through to his grandchildren who he watched many of them play nome and away games. Nancy and Dorsey had three sons: Kirk Lane, David Inglis and Troy Mark. They cherished their relationships with their sons' wives which added more females to the group. From there they enjoyed talking about all the directions that their eight grandchildren have gone. A great grandchild will be born soon which will extend the family group chat to twenty one connected through Nancy and Dorsey. In 1997 Nancy and Dorsey bought a vacation home in Shaver Lake for their family. Nancy made the mountain home into a special gathering place for friends, children and grandchildren. Many cherished memories have been made there and will be long remembered in their name.
A Celebration of Life for Dorsey will be held on August 2, 2025 at 11:00 A.M. at the First Presbyterian Church, 200 S. E St., Exeter..
Please address an donations to the Memorial Fund of the First Presbyterian Church

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