Jesse Michael Dornan
March 2, 1986 ~ March 2, 2018
Jesse was born in Salt Lake City, Utah to Michele Debouzek Dornan and David Dornan and spent much of his childhood with his brother-like cousin Chris Cope. He graduated from the Actor Training Program at the University of Utah and received his Master's degree from Florida State University/Asolo Conservatory for Actor Training in Sarasota, Florida. Regionally, Jesse worked with Milwaukee Repertory Theatre, Door County Shakespeare, Nebraska Shakespeare Festival, Asolo Repertory Theatre, Pioneer Memorial Theatre and Montana Shakespeare in the Parks. As a resident of Chicago, Jesse graced the stages of BoHo Theatre, ShawChicago, Oak Park Festival Theatre, Remy Bumppo, 16th Street Theatre, Chicago Shakespeare, Trap Door, Emerald City Theatre Company, and Fox Valley Reperatory. His fellow artists described him as a bright spirit, a dear human, and a damned excellent artist. A friend wrote of Jesse, “Jesse Dornan lived his life with a passionate heart. He felt deeply and loved strongly. Those who saw him perform experienced the powerful energy of an artist bravely committing 100%. His exuberance continued offstage, as a caring friend and loving son. He laughed loudly and was always unabashedly himself. As a practicing Buddhist, he was a leader in the SGI community. He also enjoyed physical fitness, yoga, scuba diving, snorkeling, canoeing, kayaking, mountain/street biking and fly-fishing. He was a proud cat dad of his rescue cat "Cheboygan". He lived for and loved acting and the art of his craft.” He is survived by mother Michele Debouzek Dornan and Earl Zagrodnik of Salt Lake City, father David Dornan and stepmother Marilou Kundmueller of Helper, Utah, Aunt Jenny Debouzek of Albuquerque, Aunt Janice Byers of Arizona and cousin Chris Cope and family from Florida. He is predeceased in death by grandparents Jean and Shirley Debouzek and Ed and Elaine Dornan. |