South Bay photographer Mary Pat Dorr passes away

Popular Manhattan Beach photographer Mary Pat Dorr passed away last Thursday after a two-decade-long battle with breast cancer. Last Wednesday she was honored with a lifetime achievement by the Manhattan Beach Chamber of Commerce, but was unable to attend the ceremony because she was too weak to leave her Manhattan Beach home.

Dorr built a widespread reputation in the South Bay as a portrait and scenic photographer. Last year she spoke to fellow cancer “fighters” during the Breast Cancer Comfort Bag presentation organized by the Manhattan Beach Soroptimist. Breast cancer is the second leading cause of cancer deaths among women (after lung cancer). Approximately one in nine women in the U.S. is diagnosed with breast cancer.

Dorr’s photographs can be found in hundreds of beach area homes and businesses. Her 20-foot mural of the Manhattan pier is displayed on the second floor of the Shade Hotel and she has been the official photographer of the American Martyr’s Church Sophisticated Snoop Home Tour for over three decades.

She is survived by her husband of nearly 50 years, Paul Dorr, and four children, Amy Debevec, Angela Hoppe, Paul Dorr Jr. and Patrick Dorr.

Memorial services will be held March 6 at 10:30 a.m. at American Martyrs Church, where Dorr was a long-time parishioner. A reception will follow at the Manhattan Country Club.In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made in Mary Pat’s memory to the Jonsson Cancer Center Foundation.  Information can be found at www.cancer.ucla.edu.

For more information, call (310) 545-5651.  ER