April 6, 1929-April 29, 2012
Louis De Vorsey of Athens, Georgia, passed away at St. Mary’s Hospice House on April 29 after a brief illness. Born in Newark, N.J., to Louis and Alena (Carpenter) DeVorsey, he was raised in Lyndhurst, N.J. He received his bachelor’s degree from Montclair State University, N.J., and his master’s degree in geography from Indiana University. Upon graduation from Indiana University, he entered the U.S. Navy Officer Candidate School and was commissioned as an ensign. He served in the Heavy Photographic Squadron of U.S. Navy in Japan, Thailand, Guam, and Alaska. Louis served in the Naval Reserves and retired as a commander in the U.S. Navy.
After retiring from active duty in the U.S. Navy, Louis attended Stockholm University in Sweden. He received his doctorate in historical geography from the University of London. It was in London that Louis met his wife, Rosalyn, and together they moved to North Carolina where he held teaching positions at East Carolina State University and the University of North Carolina before settling in Athens where he taught at the University of Georgia for 20 years until his retirement in 1987.
Louis’s fascination with geography grew from his yearly trip to New Brunswick, Canada to stay with his grandparents on their farm. For Louis, observing the changes in the landscape from the bus as a boy, his journey was an opportunity to go back in time.
Louis published numerous books and essays in the field of historical geography. His doctoral dissertation led to the publication of The Indian Boundary in the Southern Colonies 1763-1775. His extensive research into the early cartography of the Gulf Stream was ongoing and his most recent paper, Thomas Jefferson and the Gulf Stream was recently accepted for publication. He enjoyed investigating the actual location of historically significant sites and found William Bartram’s buffalo salt lick, an important landmark in colonial Georgia, in Oglethorpe County, Georgia.
Louis also brought the field of historical geography into the courtroom. He testified as an expert witness in a number of cases involving boundary line disputes including Georgia v. South Carolina, the United States v. Maine, and the United States v. Alaska. He was a consultant to the International Court of Justice in the United States Canada Seaward Boundary Delimitation.
Louis is survived by his wife, Rosalyn, his children, Megan, Kirsteen, and Kevin, his granddaughter, Sophia, and his son-in-law, Chris Johnson. A service will be held at Emmanuel Episcopal Church on Saturday, May 12, at 11:00 with a reception following the service. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to St. Mary’s Hospice House, 1660 Jennings Mill Rd., Bogart, Georgia.
Online condolences may be offered at www.bernsteinfuneralhome.com
Bernstein Funeral Home and Cremation Service is in charge of arrangements.
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