Dorothy S. Prisock, longtime teacher, union leader, and civic advocate, has died at 91

Dorothy S. Prisock, 91, of Philadelphia, longtime high school English teacher in the School District of Philadelphia, retired vice president of the Philadelphia Federation of Teachers, mentor, and civic advocate, died Thursday, July 20, of advanced dementia at her daughter’s home in Old Bridge, N.J.

Mrs. Prisock grew up believing that education was the key to success and independence, and that fairness was essential for effective collaboration. So she taught and mentored students at South Philadelphia and George Washington High Schools for nearly two decades, and bargained for equity and dignity as a teachers’ union leader for 15 years.

She was a no-nonsense teacher from 1955 in South Carolina to 1983 in Philadelphia. She taught discipline and civic participation as well as English, and pushed her students to aim their expectations high. “She said no one could ever take your education away from you,” recalled her daughter, Natalie Prisock-Lockett.

As a full-time union leader from 1983 to 1998, Mrs. Prisock negotiated often contentious collective bargaining agreements with school district officials, represented members in work-related conflicts, and generally advocated everywhere for both teachers and students. In 1986, she helped ease a rigid curriculum pacing schedule the district had put in place and told The Inquirer: “A youngster goes to school to learn, not to move as fast as he or she is instructed to move.”

She and a friend organized a voting rights drive in South Carolina when she was young, and she took her young son and daughter for a walk in a picket line during a teachers strike in the 1970s. They saw their car on the TV news that night, and they all cheered.

Former colleagues called her “the heart” of the teachers’ union, a “beautiful person,” and “unfailingly friendly and outgoing with everyone.” Her son, Louis, said, “Were it not for my mom’s activism, I wouldn’t be as aware and passionate about the importance of unions and the labor movement.”

Mrs. Prisock also served as a block captain, ward committee person, and poll worker in Mount Airy. In 1997, she supported a price increase on lottery tickets sold in the city to fund more police and told the Daily News: “I feel the police are understaffed. People are continuously saying they are unprotected. The funds have to come from some place, and people have the option not to play.”

She was a member of Top Ladies of Distinction and active with the United Negro College Fund, Allen University alumni groups, and many committees for the Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority. “She genuinely cared about people,” her daughter said. “She was so humble we never knew how much she did. But she put her heart and soul into everything.”

Dorothy Fraulein Searles was born Feb. 7, 1932, in Philadelphia. She and her younger sister, Ruth, spent many summers and lived full-time for a period with their grandparents in rural Mullins, S.C. It was there she learned the wonders of nature, benefits of hard work, and how to tend to farm animals she had never seen before.

She graduated from Simon Gratz High School in 1950 and earned a bachelor’s degree in English at Allen University in South Carolina in 1954. Her sister and cousin introduced her to Louis G. Prisock II, and they married in 1963.

She moved to Philadelphia, where he worked at the post office, and set up house in Hunting Park and later Mount Airy. They had son Louis III and daughter Natalie, and spent long summer days on memorable family vacations across the country.

The four of them may have visited every state, but Mrs. Prisock’s favorite place, her daughter said, remained the wilds of South Carolina. Her husband died in 2016.

Mrs. Prisock loved the smell of good food in the kitchen, especially her signature fried corn and crackling bread. She tested recipes handed down from her grandmother and whipped up plenty of home-cooked entrees with sides of unconditional love and honest advice.

“She had always told me that I could achieve anything if I set my mind to it,” said her nephew Wallace.

Family and friends called her Dot and Dottie. She revered her grandfather, a former enslaved man who became an engineering expert, and, despite her busy schedule, always found time for her family.

“She was a tough cookie,” her daughter said. “She had high expectations. She was not a pushover. She was also a wonderful and loving person.”

In addition to her children and nephew, Mrs. Prisock is survived by three grandchildren and other relatives. Her sister died earlier.

Services were held July 26.

Donations in her name may be made to the United Negro College Fund, Attn: Denise Scott, Direct Response Programs, 1805 7th Street, NW, Washington, D.C. 20001.