Obituaries

Duane Franklin Dorsing

Obituary

August 30, 1940 - November 12, 2024

Rev. Duane Franklin Dorsing, age 84, went home to be with Jesus on November 12, 2024. Duane’s personal mission was to teach others so that they could teach others about Jesus, which he did in a lifetime of preaching, teaching, administrating, and guiding as an ordained minister and missionary with the Assemblies of God. He is survived by his wife Marilyn; his children Sandy, Sue, and Dan; his grandchildren Jason, Julie, Jerry, Isaiah, and Rachel; and his great-grandchildren Melia, Anthony, Aria, and Elijah. He is also survived by his brother Ray and sisters Anita and Beverly.

Duane was born on August 30, 1940, in Astoria, Oregon, to William (Bill) and Elsie Kennedy Dorsing. He had an older brother, Ray, and three sisters, Anita, Leanne, and Beverly later joined them. The family lived primarily in Portland, Oregon, and Spokane, Washington, as his dad worked and planted churches. Duane loved music and sang in church with his brother and sisters. Everyone in the family worked hard to contribute to their finances. Duane recalled selling newspapers from the age of 5 and had one or more paper delivery routes throughout his growing years. He remembered long summers picking beans and berries to pay for his school clothes each fall. He graduated from David Douglas High School in Portland, where he played football and earned the nickname “Pogo” for jumping over would-be tacklers on the playing field like a pogo stick.

After high school, Duane went to Northwest Bible College (now Northwest University) in Kirkland, Washington, where he met his wife, Marilyn. They were married in 1960 and became youth pastors in 1962. In 1964, the couple went as missionaries to the Philippines, preaching, pastoring, and teaching at Immanuel Bible College in Cebu and in Bacolod. Their daughters Sandy and Sue were born in the Philippines. In the 1970s the young family went to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, where Duane was the principal of the Bible Institute of Malaya (now Bible College of Malaysia). Their son, Dan, was born in Malaysia. In 1980, the family went to the Fiji Islands where Duane was the principal of South Pacific Bible College. Their next missionary term in the 1990s was spent strengthening the 130 Asia Pacific Bible Schools and extension training centers through onsite consultations, faculty development seminars, conference coordination, and new missionary orientation. Duane and Marilyn then relocated to Seoul, Korea, for additional ministry. They retired in 2010 to Oak Harbor, Washington, after 46 years of missionary service.

Duane was an avid Seattle Seahawks fan and enjoyed watching the games. He was a very generous man with both time and money, always ready to help anyone who had a need. Sandy recalls her dad hand-dipping thousands of wooden shingles to put on their home and guarding the construction site by sleeping there at night. Sue remembers her dad building a deck on her home for her family, along with a swing set in the yard for the grandkids. He gave whatever he had, whenever he could, to bless those around him.

 In his later years, Duane struggled with physical infirmities. He suffered permanent pain and spinal injury in 1987 after a struggle with robbers in their house in Fiji resulted in a broken neck. He was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in 2010, and progressively lost use of his body over the next 14 years. He was faithfully cared for by Marilyn as his primary caregiver for many years before his needs required a move to an adult family home. In his final years, he was unable to leave his bed, but he loved talking with family and friends and praying with them.

Leading others to a personal knowledge of Jesus was the core of Duane’s life. Duane (with Marilyn’s help) wrote a collection of his life stories that detailed God’s faithfulness. In it, he wrote, “I wish you knew how important it is to me that you also enter into the joys of heaven and that together we are able to share eternity with Christ. Heaven is real! I urge you to follow Christ and be committed to join me and the saints in eternity with Christ.”

A memorial service celebrating Duane’s life will be held at 11 AM on Saturday, December 14 at the Chapel of the Resurrection in Bothell, WA. A livestream link is available by emailing Duane’s daughter, Sue Pierce, at sue.pierce@frontier.com. Please email Sue or leave a note on this page if you have a memory of Duane that you wish to share.