WHARTON BOROUGH, NJ (Morris County) – Morris County and the Borough of Wharton are saddened by the passing of Chief Kyle Dorr, who provided 28 years of outstanding public service with Morris County and over 30 years as a volunteer firefighter for the Wharton Fire Department.
“Chief Dorr was a beloved member of our Morris County family. He will be greatly missed,” said Morris County Administrator Deena Leary.
Chief Dorr’s employment with the County of Morris started working at the Juvenile Detention Center (JDC) in September of 2000 as a Juvenile Detention Officer (JDO). He went on to hold all ranks there, from Senior JDO to Supervising JDO and Field Training Officer, before he was promoted to Chief JDO in 2016. As chief, he oversaw the daily operations and supervision of the staff and worked closely with the Juvenile Justice Commission (JJC) to ensure all standards were met at the JDC.
The Morris County JDC, operated by the County of Morris under the Department of Human Services, houses juveniles from Morris, Sussex, Hunterdon and Warren counties, through shared services agreements. The State of New Jersey Attorney General established the JJC in 1995 to serve as the single agency of State government with centralized authority for planning, policy development, and provision of services in the juvenile justice system. The JJC’s three primary responsibilities are providing care, custody, and rehabilitative services to youth committed to the agency by the courts, supervising and coordinating services for youth released from custody on parole, and supporting local efforts to provide prevention and early intervention services to at-risk and court-involved youth.
Jill Cerullo, Director of Morris County Juvenile Facilities, said Chief Dorr was fondly known as “Mr. Fix It” for the JDC, because “if it was broke, he would fix it.” He was a skilled craftsman and artisan who enjoyed making artistic and practical items out of unusual materials.
Chief Dorr was also an Exempt Fireman and 30-year member of the Wharton Fire Department, Active Hose Company, where he was Department Chief in 2003, 2007, 2019 and Chief Elect for 2023. He worked with the Borough of Wharton to prepare finances for new Pierce Fire Trucks for his department and served in a multitude of other support roles, including trustee, relief treasurer, entertainment chairman, chief advisor, junior advisor and training officer. He was also a Life Member of the State Relief Association.
Chief Dorr has always served his community with distinction and with a broad industry knowledge, bringing passion and commitment to the job every day, whether it be with the Borough of Wharton Fire Department or the Morris County Juvenile Detention Center.
Dorr, 51, retired on March 1, and passed away Monday, April 10 surrounded by loved ones at Morristown Medical Center after a short but tough battle with cancer.
He is survived by his wife of 21 years, Jennifer O’Malley-Dorr, daughter Shannon, sister Christiana, and nieces, nephews, and cousins. Our condolences go out to his family and greater Morris County, where everyone cherished him.
For funeral services information, click here.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Shannon Dorr College Fund, c/o the funeral home. To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of Kyle M. Dorr visit Bermingham Funeral Home’s Tribute Store.
