Henny Dorsman, 98, of Lexington, died Friday, Aug. 21, 2026 at Kendal.

 Henny was born in Rotterdam, one of six children. At 16, following the German bombing of Rotterdam, Henny was rounded up with other teenage boys and sent by cattle car to a labor camp in Münster, Germany, where he was assigned to clean latrines. After three months he escaped to a nearby farm, where the farmer's wife hid him in the barn until American forces liberated him on April 1, 1945. 

Rotterdam's postwar quarantine kept him from home a while longer, and he was later drafted into the Dutch Army and sent to Indonesia, serving in communications. When his service ended, Henny wrote directly to the queen of the Netherlands asking for the chance to finish his education - and she granted it. He completed night school, then earned a teaching degree and a degree in electrohydro engineering from the University of Utrecht. 

After working on the wiring of Dutch cruise ships, he moved to Aruba in 1962 and became director of the Martin Luther King Technical School, where his work improving education and living standards on the island earned him a knighthood from Queen Beatrix in 1983. 

Henny was married to Klazina Maatje for over 50 years, and they had two children, Rudy and Bonita. Henny and Klazina later moved to Staunton in 1987, where Henny designed their home and worked for the Virginia School for the Deaf and the Blind.

 An avid bridge player, Henny organized the Central American Bridge Tournament, invented the still-used Dorsman Slide to prevent cheating, owned a bridge club in Charlottesville, and co-owned BridgeMate, a scoring device used in bridge tournaments all over the world. He spoke five languages, including Papiamento. 

In 2012, Henny married Ann Spice, and they lived together in Lexington, later moving to Kendal in 2024. They enjoyed traveling together all over the United States and Europe, visiting friends and family and exploring new places. 

He is survived by his wife, Ann Spice, and his daughter, Bonita Dorsman. 

A memorial service will be held at Kendal Hall in Lexington on Aug. 29 at 3 p.m.

 Arrangements are by Harrison Funeral Home & Crematory.