Skip to content

Teddy Dorsey

Theodore “Teddy” Dorsey was a Black American man who lived in Baltimore with his wife, Evelyn “Evie” Dorsey. He was the father of Rochelle Russell, the maternal grandfather of Diana Washington and Levi Russell, and the great-grandfather of Marcus Levi Washington III. Teddy and Evie provided practical support that helped Rochelle and Chris Russell care for Levi at home.

Family Life and Caregiving

Teddy and Evie raised Rochelle in Baltimore. Teddy was quiet and attentive, as comfortable tending his garden as sitting beside his grandson. After neonatal meningitis caused Levi’s significant brain injury and lifelong support needs, Rochelle rejected a recommendation to place him in an institution. Teddy and Evie provided additional care and a second home while Rochelle and Chris raised him within the family. As Levi grew too large to lift easily, Teddy helped Chris with transfers, including the moves into the garden.

Teddy and Evie remained close to Diana after Levi died around 1992, Chris died around 1993, and Rochelle died later in the decade. They supported Diana through those losses but did not raise her during that period because she was already an adult.

Teddy’s Garden

Teddy kept a garden of bright flowers, including marigolds and zinnias, that attracted butterflies. Levi spent substantial time at his grandparents’ home, and the garden became one of his favorite places. Teddy stayed with him there, repositioned him when he listed sideways on a blanket, and angled him toward flowers or butterflies that held his attention. Levi followed their movement, giggled when one came close, shrieked as it lifted away, and fought sleep to keep watching before finally dozing in the sun.

Years later, Marcus Washington I established a garden at the Washington family home after hearing about Levi’s love of flowers and butterflies. He did not know Teddy’s garden when he planted it. Diana recognized the echo between the garden where her brother had been happy and the new one her father-in-law made for her grief; she kept that recognition to herself.

Later Life and Death

Teddy and Evie knew their great-grandson Marcus III, who was born in 1997. They recognized aspects of Levi’s build, warmth, and room-filling energy in him, a resemblance that carried both joy and grief. Both died while Marcus was young and before Diana’s death in 2010.

Characters Supporting Characters Deceased Characters Black Characters Black American Characters Dorsey Family