Dorothy “Dosky” F. French, 94, of Princeton, NJ passed away at home on August 22, 2024. Always elegant, extraordinarily generous, intelligent, curious, and widely-read, she loved both poetry and politics. She was both admired and loved by all who knew her.
Born in New York City in 1930, Dosky had been a resident of Princeton since 1932, when her parents, Dorothy Stevens Fleming and Matthew Corry Fleming, Jr. built a house on North Road for her and her younger sister, Angie. She graduated Miss Fine’s School in 1948, and married her first husband, Edward M. Gorman – also of Princeton – in 1949, with whom she had two children, Kathy and Steve.
Although primarily a homemaker, Dosky volunteered extensively for numerous organizations, especially for the Red Cross and the Princeton Hospital, which she also supported with significant financial contributions. Her other charitable contributions were numerous and varied. Both financially-savvy and stylish, she was a co-owner of a women’s dress shop in Pennington, “Reynolds,” in the 1970s.
Dosky loved art and poetry all her life, and became an accomplished poet in her later years. She was particularly fond of horses, and once had her own, Frost, a dappled-gray.
Dosky was divorced from Edward Gorman in 1964, and married Bruce French, a local attorney, in 1969; she and Mr. French were divorced in 1985.
Dosky was proud of her New Jersey roots, which go back through many family generations to John Stevens, who arrived in New York/ New Jersey at the end of the 17th century. The Stevens family included many leading figures of colonial America such as Col. John Stevens, an early Treasurer of the State of New Jersey and noted steam and railroad pioneer, whose son, Robert, designed the T-rail system that trains still roll on today. Other Stevens family members included John Cox Stevens, first Commodore of the New York Yacht Club and owner of the yacht America, after which the cup is named; and Dosky’s great-grandfather, Edwin Augustus Stevens, who founded the eponymous Stevens Institute of Technology.
Dosky is survived by her children, Kathleen Colket and her husband, Meredith, of Avon, CT; and Stephen Gorman and his wife, Rosalie, of Whitefish, MT; 5 grown grandchildren: Alex, Laura and Caroline Colket; and Brian and Kevin Gorman; and 4 great-grandchildren, Solan and Nova Colket-Jacobs; and Declan and Ainsley Gorman. She is also survived by two special nieces, Vicki Austin-Smith; and Franny Gorman, both of Princeton, as well as many other nieces and nephews.
Funeral Services for Dosky will be held at a later date.
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions can be made to The Red Cross or an animal humane organization.