Rosetta Mc Gill
In Loving Memory
On Christmas morning, December 25, 2025, Rosetta (née Dorsey) McGill passed as peacefully as she had lived, surrounded by her husband of 66 years, her three children, and four grandchildren. Her mother, who passed on Christmas Day forty-one years earlier, returned to reclaim her precious daughter and lovingly usher her through the pearly gates of Heaven. Rosetta was the eighth of ten children born to Walter Dorsey and Bertha Marie (née Latham) Dorsey. She was affectionately known as Rose, but if you really knew her, you would remember a time when everyone called her Rosie.
Rose accepted Jesus Christ as her Lord and Savior at an early age. She and her siblings grew up in Second Baptist Church in Harvey, Illinois, where her father was a founding member. Her faith became the foundation upon which the rest of her life was built. Throughout her life, she remained devoted to God, proudly serving on the Nurses Board at Bethlehem Temple Missionary Baptist Church in Harvey.
In her early teens, Rose caught the eye of Michael “Mickey” McGill, a classmate of her big sister, whom she met at a gathering at her family’s home. Upon graduation, Mickey was headed to New York to pursue a music career with The Dells, a singing group formed in 1952 at Thornton High School. But Rose and Mickey never lost touch after that initial meeting and were married in 1959 at Second Baptist Church. They raised their three daughters surrounded by family and friends in their hometown of Harvey. Their union cemented a Dorsey–McGill bond that remains inseparable to this day. You cannot think of one family without thinking of the other.
The year 1959 proved to be pivotal for Rose. Known for her impeccable sense of fashion, it came as no surprise that after graduating high school, she enrolled in the prominent Patricia Vance School of Modeling in Chicago. Deeply influenced by this experience, she went on to open Rose’s House of Charm in 1965. Her classes were dedicated to developing and preparing the youth of her community to live beautiful lives filled with purpose, dignity, and class. Rose was always an advocate for her community. She continually reached out to the top modeling agencies in Chicago to ask why Black people were not represented in television and radio ads or magazines. Throughout the 1960s, she personally delivered professional photos of her baby daughter, hoping to get her started in modeling. Nearly a decade later, when Montgomery Ward called a modeling agency to request a Black model, they immediately thought of the tenacious woman with the photogenic daughter. Rose’s oldest daughter was one of the first Black model featured in the Montgomery Ward catalog. Soon after, her other daughters began modeling.
True to form, once Rose walked through a new door, she immediately turned around and pulled everyone with her. Over the next four decades, her students could always be found in magazines, commercials, TV shows, and movies. And while she loved to see them on the runway or the big screen, she was most proud when her students succeeded in their personal and professional lives.
Small in stature, but big in heart, Rose didn’t believe in luck. She believed in hard work and preparation. Among her many accomplishments, Rose served as Director of the Harvey Park District, retiring in 2001. She received several honors for her dedication to South Suburban Chicago youth and their families including: Delta Sigma Theta, Joliet Area/South Suburban Chapter “Echoes of Excellence” Award; Women Together – Abby Foundation Award; The City of Harvey – Living Black History Award; City of Harvey – Dedication Award; Standard Newspaper Leadership Award; South Suburban Community College Woman of the Year; Educational Talent Search Leadership Award; and TTHS District 205 Academic Enrichment Foundation’s Lifetime Achievement Award, among others. She also volunteered as a board member for CEDA Harvey (President), Creative Women of Governors State University, TTHS District 205 Academic Enrichment Foundation, and LBD Enterprises (Toys for Tots).
Even with her many accolades, she was never impressed by titles, stature, or fame. What mattered most to her was kinship, fellowship, and the lifelong relationships rooted in her hometown. Rosetta McGill is survived by her beloved husband of 66 years, Michael McGill, her three daughters, her four grandchildren, her sister, and a large close-knit group of cousins, nieces, and nephews that she adored. She will forever be remembered for her gentle spirit, sheer will, and her determination to make everything and everyone around her better.