Powers, Dorothy
POWERS, Dorothy
Dorothy Koenig Powers, 94, of Victoria Estates, Atlanta, passed away on October 8, 2021, surrounded by her loving family and caregivers. She is survived by her second husband Erl Dordal, her children Carl and Vicki, her grandchildren Emma, Ann, and Molly, and extended family.
Born in 1927 in Bilaspur, India, the youngest of five children of missionary parents, she graduated from the hill station Woodstock School in Mussoorie in 1944. She attended Elmhurst College and the University of Chicago, completing an MSc in bacteriology in 1953. She married James T. Powers of Anniston, AL, and the couple moved to Atlanta, where from 1954 to 1956, before the births of her son and daughter, she worked as a researcher at the CDC in Doraville. The family later lived in Jacksonville, FL, and in Short Hills and Princeton, NJ.
She was active in the League of Women Voters for over 30 years, serving as First Vice President of Finance; and also served two terms as the Chair of the New Jersey Hospital Rate Setting Commission. In the mid-1990s, she and her husband moved back to Atlanta to be close to their grandchildren. Several years after Jim's sudden death at age 70, she found love again, and married Dr. Erl Dordal, a resident of Chicago.
Dorothy will be remembered for her intelligence, charm, generosity, and unfailingly sweet disposition. She was well read, well-traveled, and well loved. Donations in her name to Doctors Without Borders, Environment Georgia, and USA for UNHCR are welcome. A celebration of her life will take place on December 4.
