Dorothy Chacko

Dorothy Dunning Chacko (1904 – December 30, 1992) was an American social worker, humanitarian and medical doctor, whose efforts were reported behind the establishment of a lepers' colony at Bethany village, in Ganaur, Sonepat district in the Indian state of Haryana. She was a Hall of Famer of the County of Delaware, Pennsylvania a recipient of the Take the Lead Honour from the Girl Scouts of Eastern Pennsylvania and the Smith College Medal. She was honoured by the Government of India in 1972 with Padma Shri, the fourth highest Indian civilian award.

Biography

Dorothy Dunning was born in 1904 in Kyoto, Japan to congregational missionary couple, Morton Dexter and Mary Ward Dunning as one among their six children, when they were working in Japan. She did her early schooling there and moving to the US at the age of 16, becoming the first female resident of the hospital. for his doctoral research in international law at the Columbia University and they got married in 1932. She moved to India when Joseph Chacko returned to his home land in June 1932 Later, she moved to North India, when Joseph shifted his base there, he would eventually retire as the Professor and the Head of the Department of Political Science from the University of Delhi. at Ganaur, in Sonepat district in Haryana. Initially she started as a teacher at the Woodstock School, Mussoorie but later, resumed her medical career as the Chief Doctor at the Methodist village clinic, New Delhi and served as the chief medical officer of the World Council of Churches conference took place in New Delhi in 1962. She also headed the board of the Christian Medical College, Ludhiana for a period.

In 1967, Joseph Chacko accepted the post of a visiting professor at the Pennsylvania Military College, (present day Widener University) and Chacko family moved to Chester, Pennsylvania. She continued her medical practice by joining Crozer-Chester Medical Center, Upland as a staff physician at its maternal and infant-care clinics. Here, she co-founded Chester Art Guild to promote art among the Chester residents and was active with Young Women's Christian Association (YWCA) of which she served as the president from 1974 to 1976.

Dorothy Chacko died on 30 December 1992 at her Chester home at the age of 88 and was buried at the Chester Rural Cemetery. Joseph and Dorothy Chacko had three children, eldest son, Joseph Chacko, an engineer based in California, the younger son, John Chacko, a medical doctor practicing in Regina, Canada and the youngest, Mary Russel, working in Hawai as a congregational minister.

Awards and honours Dorothy Chacko was honoured with the Smith College Medal by her alma mater, Smith College, in 1970 and she was inducted into the Hall of Fame of Delaware County, Pennsylvania in 1996. The Government of India awarded her the fourth highest Indian civilian honour of Padma Shri in 1972. The Girl Scouts of Eastern Pennsylvania awarded her the Take the Lead Honour and the Philadelphia Evening Bulletin, the YWCA, and the Pennsylvania Medical Society also honoured her on different occasions.