August 27, 1927-December 26, 2024
Willie Doris Dickerson was born on August 27, 1927, in Newton County, Mississippi to parents Henry Dickerson and Janie (Redd) Dickerson. At the time of his death on December 26, 2024, his legacy is a large and distinguished family of 63 direct descendants, who are now spread across many states and abroad.
Doris, was born on property that his parents owned on (what is now) Hudson Chapel Road. He spent those early years working with his dad on the farm and providing a modest living during the height of the Great Depression. He was the oldest of four children, Doris, Maxwell Irvin, Lillian Loree, and Billy Ray.
Doris became interested in music at an early age, crafting his own stringed instruments from whatever materials were available to him before the age of 10. His first professionally made instrument was a fiddle, given to him by his father. From that moment, his desire to make music never faded. From Saturday night musicals with friends, to headlining events such as Union’s Country Day, to playing on the national mall in Washington DC, he passed his love for music down to his descendants. The Dickersons are known as a musical family. Several have made their careers in music; almost all are musicians in some capacity.
In 1937, at the age of 10, Doris joined the newly formed Hudson Chapel Church. Over the next 87 years, he served the church in many capacities, including almost 50 years as the men’s Sunday school teacher.
In the closing days of World War II, 18-year-old Doris reported for duty in the US Army. Shortly after returning from Okinawa, he met Louise Cooksey at a Saturday night musical. They were engaged on Valentine’s Day 1947 and were married just two weeks later. Their union produced six children, 15 grandchildren, 33 great grandchildren, and 9 great-great grandchildren.
The 1950s were a time of rapid progress. Doris bought a parcel of land that had already been in the family since 1918. In 1952 he built a house on the site of his parents’ old home place. At about the same time, he passed the amateur radio license exam, and he became an active HAM radio operator under the call “W5VPX”. His interest in electronics led him to build several of his own radios and for a time he even operated local radio broadcasts of his fiddle playing. Meanwhile, he joined forces with several area building contractors and became one of the most skilled and exacting brick masons in the region. His brick work is a prominent feature of hundreds of residential homes, churches, and businesses throughout central Mississippi. By the end of the decade, four children had been born and the Dickerson house was expanded a few times.
Over the next three decades Doris continued to expand his family, his construction career, his HAM radio hobby, and especially his music avocation. He was invited, alongside several other musicians to represent the state of Mississippi at the American Folk Life Festival in Washington DC. This project resulted in a week of performances on the national mall, an album of folk music, dinner at the Governor’s Mansion, and Doris being named one of the Top Ten Fiddler in the State of Mississippi.
The legacy of this brilliant and well-loved man will no doubt live on for many years to come in the hearts and minds of his family and countless friends.
Doris is preceded in death by two brothers, Irvin Maxwell Dickerson and Billy Ray Dickerson, his wife of 60 years, Louise Cookey Dickerson, and his second wife Bobbie Alford. He is survived by his sister, Lillian Loree Bryant and his 63 direct descendants.
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