William H. Dodson

Visitation will be 5:00-8:00pm, Friday, April 3, 2015 at Baldwin-Lee Funeral Home in Pearl. Funeral services are 11:00am, Saturday, April 4, 2015 at McLaurin Heights Baptist Church in Pearl. Interment services will follow at 4:00pm in the Longtown Cemetery in Crenshaw, Mississippi.

Dr. Dodson was born in Tunica on Saturday, September 4, 1937, a son of the late Gladys Priscilla Owen Dodson and Russell William Dodson. He was raised in Crenshaw where he graduated from Crenshaw High School in 1955. He met his wife of fifty-three years, Nancey, at Northwest Community College where he attended on a football scholarship. He attended Delta State University and graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Education in 1959. He went on to the University of Mississippi where he received a Master of Education in 1960. In 1981, he received his Ph.D. from Mississippi State University's Department of Educational Leadership.

Dr. Dodson served as a coach and history teacher in the schools of Corinth, Tunica, and Vicksburg Public Schools. His administrative career started in the Greenville Public Schools where he served as assistant principal for three years and principal for ten years. From 1982 to 2000 he served as Superintendent of Education for Pearl Public Schools.

During his career he remained active in many professional organizations and affiliations. Among those were Mississippi School Boards Association, Mississippi Association of School Superintendents, Mississippi Association of Secondary Administrators, Phi Delta Kappa, American Association of School Administrators, Council of Public Schools, and Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. He also served on the Board of Trustees for Hinds Community College.

His honors include the Golden Lamp Award- Mississippi Association of School Administrators, Distinguished Service Award- Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, Mississippi Superintendent of the Year and Administrator of the Year- Mississippi Association of Student Councils, Community Service Award- Pearl Chamber of Commerce, and the Visionary Leadership Award- Mississippi State University.

Dr. Dodson served as State President of the following organizations: MASS, MASA, CPS, and SACS; local civic organizations, Jaycees, Lions and Rotary Clubs, and the Pearl Chamber of Commerce.

In his role as Superintendent his schools received many state and national awards including two National Blue Ribbon School Awards plus level five ratings for both secondary schools. He ensured that a wide variety of the Arts was included in a well-balanced academic and extra-curricular program. All areas excelled in top ratings, especially in academics, track and band competition. As a result, the Pearl Public School District honored him by naming their new facility the William H. Dodson Performing Arts Center.

For the past several years Dr. Dodson has served as president of his own educational consulting firm. He has lectured nationally on school safety and leadership. During a fifteen-year period he served as an adjunct professor for Mississippi College, Delta State University and Mississippi State University. He worked for the Mississippi Community College Foundation. He helped find eligible candidates for the Horatio Alger Association and the Pearl Education Foundation honored him with the William H. Dodson Scholarship Fund.

On October 1, 1997 the Pearl community suffered a tragic turn of events. In spite of the tragedy of the Pearl High School shootings, he showed remarkable leadership, courage and compassion. He later wrote a book entitled, If Only I Had Known, because he wanted to stop this kind of violence from ever happening again.

Dr. Dodson was a member of McLaurin Heights Baptist Church in Pearl where he faithfully served as Deacon, Past Chairman of Deacons, Sunday School teacher, and Adult Five Sunday School Director.

Dr. Dodson never met a stranger. He enjoyed traveling, writing, making power point presentations and having lunches with friends. He enjoyed the company of family and friends and sharing his traveling experiences with his wife. The many places he visited included Egypt, Israel, England, Ireland, France, Slovakia, Austria, Russia, China, and Peru.

He is survived by his loving wife, Nancey; daughters, Cindy Martin (Tim) of Clinton and Susan Ellison (Dale) of Trujillo, Peru; grandchildren, Sara, Lindsey, and Hunter Martin; Caleb, Jacob, Rebekah, Zachary, and Lauren Ellison.

Memorials may be made to McLaurin Heights Baptist Church in Pearl, Peru Mission, or the charity of one’s choice.