Lorenza W. Dickerson, 66, transitioned to eternal rest on May 25, 2022. He was born on June 5, 1955, the year in which he said, "they made real men", to the late Lorenza Horace Dickerson and Ann Payne Dickerson. Lorenza was a generous, charismatic, and loving soul who enjoyed life and lived every day to the fullest. He leaves a huge hole in the hearts of his family and friends who he kept entertained by always "crackin' jokes and tellin' lies".

Lorenza grew up in Cobham, Va., surrounded by family whose ancestors occupied their corner of Albemarle County for generations. He attended the all-Black Rose Hill Elementary School before being one of the early students to desegregate Stone-Robinson Elementary in the mid-1960s. In 1973, Lorenza graduated from Albemarle High School where he met his high school sweetheart and future wife, Marcella "Pat" Wilson. Lorenza was baptized as a member of St. John Baptist Church in Cobham, Va., where he later served as a trustee.

After high school, Lorenza attended a dual degree engineering program at historically Black Wilberforce University and the University of Dayton, and later attended the University of Buffalo. He worked as a chemist at Diamond Shamrock in Cleveland, Ohio, and Chemical Process Engineer for Hughes Aircraft in Los Angeles, Calif., where he and his family lived before returning home to Albemarle County in the early 1980s. Lorenza spent his career as an Associate Professor at J. Sargeant Reynolds Community College in Goochland, Va., where he taught automotive for 30 years and led the GMASEP program.

After retiring in 2019, Lorenza spent his days remodeling the home he grew up in, talking on the CB radio, hanging out with his cousins and friends, watching his collection of Western movies, laughing and joking with his two siblings, cheering for his beloved Washington Football Team, and his favorite of all, spending time with the joys of his life, his two grandsons.

Lorenza was preceded in death by his loving wife of 23 years, Marcella "Pat" Wilson Dickerson; his parents, Lorenza Horace Dickerson and Ann Payne Dickerson; and his mother and father-in-law, Sarah Maupin Wilson and William Wilson.

Lorenza leaves to cherish his memory one son and daughter-in-law, Lorenza William and Dr. Kimalee Dickerson and his two grandsons, Noah and Jude Dickerson of Charlottesville, Va.; one sister, Linda Dickerson of Cobham, Va.; one brother, Ira Dickerson (Sharon) of Troy, Va.; one niece, Iris Dickerson Park (Joseph) and their children, Liam and Nora Ann of Roanoke, Va.; two nephews, Chance Dickerson (Da) and their daughter, Ava of Charlottesville, Va., and Hunter Dickerson of Denver, Colo.; aunts, Christine Dickerson Payne of Cismont, Va., Joyce Ann Dickerson Price of Annandale, Va., Sarah Paige of Washington, D.C., and Jean Dickerson Payne and her husband, Uncle Herbert Donnell Payne, of Cobham, Va.; sisters-in-law, Sarah Gardner, Wilhelmina Wilson and Veronica Wilson, all of Ivy, Va.; special cousins, Alfred Hawkins and Theodore Thompson; his prized student, Peyton Dickerson; a very special friend, Patsy Easley; and a host of loving cousins, nieces and nephews, and friends.

Homegoing Service will be held Sunday, June 5, 2022, 1 p.m. at St. John Baptist Church, 1595 St. John Road., Gordonsville, VA 22942, with The Rev. Kelvin Hawkins, officiant. Interment will follow at Mt. Calvary Baptist Church, 3045 Morgantown Road, Charlottesville, VA 22903.

Arrangements will be entrusted to J.F. Bell Funeral Home. Condolences may be sent to the family via the guestbook at www.jfbellfuneralservices.com.