Albert A. Dorner SR

Albert Alexander Dorner was born on December 2, 1944, at Harlem Hospital in New York City. He was a beloved husband and a loving and admirable father to all his children. He was the first-born child of the late Alexander Dorner Sr. and the late Anna Marie Dorner. Albert was just “Al” to most who knew him but to his family, he was “Poogie”, an endearing nickname given to him by his late grandmother, Corrine Dowling. Albert would grow up and attend Samuel Gompers Industrial High School in the Bronx, New York where he became quite skilled in working with his hands. Being crafty, he would often play tricks on his six younger siblings - a memory I’m sure they delight in today. In high school, Al was a dapper young man and the envy of his peers which earned him the nickname “Batman” as he could often be found in all-black attire during those years. At the age of 18, during the Vietnam War, he was drafted into the U.S. Army and stationed at Fort Lewis in Tacoma, Washington for two years. Not one for confrontation and certainly not war, after his tour of duty, Al returned home and began a career as a transit police officer for the New York Police Department. By this time, he also started a family from which Albert Alexander Dorner, Jr., the eldest of his children, and Kaiya Lesha Dorner were born. Al loved serving his community as an officer of the law, however, an injury, or at least the perception of an injury, would cut his career short which led to a new chapter in his life. Albert relocated to Southern New Jersey, where he spent the next 10 years working for the U.S. Army Reserve, and General Electric’s Radio Corporation of America (RCA). During those years, Al welcomed two more daughters, Kesi Sakina Dorner and Tarika Yasmin Dorner and became a loving father to Sandra Lachonne Dorner. In his final chapter of life, Albert married Sandy Dorner and would also become a loving father to Kenneth Johnson, Sheri Joi Johnson, and Nygel Knighton. He would spend the majority of 30-plus years in Bowie, Maryland with his dutiful wife Sandra, affectionately known to all as ‘Sandy’. Bowie, Maryland would not only become where they made a home, but where they’d make their fondest memories, and eventually where they would leave their hearts. Al was the consummate provider for his family and therefore, reluctantly approached retirement. He eventually retired as a government employee for Homeland Security. Al was a kind, quiet, reserved soul with a giving, fun-loving, and outgoing spirit. He was quick-witted and could be lightheartedly sarcastic. Al was highly proficient with numbers and mathematically inclined. He enjoyed music and singing, dancing, anything sweet, and any episode of the television program Law and Order or the Big Bang Theory. More than anything though he absolutely loved spending time with family. Later in life, he got to travel and experience the world and make beautiful lasting memories with his wife and family. Albert Alexander Dorner, Sr. is preceded by his daughter, Kaiya Lesha Dorner, his mother, Anna Marie Dorner, his father, Alexander Eurchlin Dorner Sr., his brother, Alexander Eurchlin Dorner, Jr. (Goo Goo), and his sister Deborah Dorner. He is survived by his wife, Sandra Dorner, his sons Albert Alexander Dorner, Jr., Kenny Johnson, and Nygel Knighton, his daughters Sandra Lachonne Dorner, Kesi Sakina Dorner, Tarika Yasmin Dorner, and Sheri Joi Johnson, 10 grandchildren, 3 great-grandchildren, his brother Frederick Dorner, his sisters Eleanor Bowman, Marie Meggett, and Yvette Dorner-Rogers and a host of in-laws, nieces, nephews, cousins, godchildren, and friends.

Tributes

Albert A. Dorner SR

December 2, 1944 - January 26, 2024