Dolores Scott, 71, was a preacher and teacher to many

The Rev. Dolores Gertrude Scott called them her “jewels and gems.” Her four children, and later other children she came to know, were more precious than anything.

“All children were her babies,” said daughter LaDonnya Scott. “She was a loving and caring mother and person. She was always about education, teaching us to never give up. She put God first.”

Rev. Scott, 71, died Wednesday, April 8, of COVID-19. Unable to hold a funeral or service then, the family held a memorial in September.

“She was always encouraging,” LaDonnya said. “It was never about material things with her. She had a contagious smile and laugh that everybody remembers.”

Born in Abington and a graduate of Upper Dublin High School, Rev. Scott was a lifelong member of Antioch Baptist Church in North Hills. She was baptized there, sang in the choir, and later served as the church’s first licensed female preacher. An inspirational speaker known as Rev. Lorsie, she delivered her final sermon just a month before she died.

Rev. Scott worked in supermarkets and banks. She liked to cook, travel, and dance. She served as the family hairdresser for big events. She was active in ministering to the homeless, elderly, and incarcerated, but her greatest joy was children. She loved to sing songs and tell stories to children she met, often rewriting the songs in her head to match the situation. A family favorite was her jazzed-up version of “Happy Birthday.”

A nature lover, Rev. Scott would often direct her children and their friends “to look up at the clouds and imagine” how the mysteries of the universe unfold.

“Kids loved her,” LaDonnya said.

One of seven children, Dolores Dinkins met Melvin Scott, and they married and had four children: Melvin Jr. (known as Bam), Duayne, LaDonnya, and Shanita. Soft-spoken most of the time, Rev. Scott had no trouble making herself heard when circumstances required it. She and her husband were married for 53 years.

“People said they never heard her raise her voice,” LaDonnya said. “But we knew her differently. She wasn’t shy, and she could be stern. But it was always in a teaching way with a smile on her face. For her, love was the glue that held things together.”

“The mission of her whole adult life was to be a source of light, hope, and love so that others never felt alone in their despair,” a family friend wrote in a tribute.

In addition to her husband and children, Rev. Scott is survived by four of her six siblings, eight grandchildren, six great-grandchildren, and other family members.

— Gary Miles, gmiles@inquirer.com