Mr. Erman Ray Dotson, Jr., age 92, of Sandersville passed away on Wednesday, April 20, 2022, at the Piedmont University Hospital in Augusta after a brief illness. A celebration of his life will be held on Saturday, April 23, 2022, at 11:00 A.M. in the First Christian Church of Sandersville. Reverend Cecil Cook will officiate. The family will greet friends following the service.
Ray was born October 12, 1929, in Petroleum, West Virginia, the fourth of five children to Erman Ray Dotson, Sr. and Susie Arman Dotson. He was raised on a farm in the mountains and reared in the Church of Christ. Mr. Dotson was a 1947 graduate of the Cairo High School, where he served as Class President and played baritone in the High School Band. Ray then attended the Georgia Institute of Technology on a Navy ROTC scholarship and graduated with a degree in Ceramic Engineering. He was married in 1952 to Gloria Gunter in Atlanta. They would relocate to Norfolk, Virginia while he was active duty in the United States Navy. Following his service, Mr. Dotson began a career in Sandersville with the kaolin industry of United Clay Mines in 1954. He would later work at Georgia Kaolin in Dry Branch and move to Macon, where his family purchased their first house. Ray moved to Wyoming in 1960 to oversee the construction of a new bentonite processing plant for Benton Clay Company before returning to Sandersville in 1963 when he went to work for American Industrial Clay Company as Plant Engineer. Mr. Dotson then rejoined the First Christian Church and served in numerous roles as Deacon, Elder, and Board Chairman. Ray was a charter member of the Gideons International Organization. He built his most recent home on Pine Hill Way in Sandersville in 1968 with his son and continued to build cabinets and pursue other woodworking projects for many years. Mr. Dotson was an award winner of the Georgia Mining Association for his slide show presentation on kaolin processing. He retired near the age of 80 but continued his volunteer work in the Extended Care Facility Garden at the Washington County Regional Medical Center. Ray enjoyed playing Scrabble with his children and grandchildren and learning to cook new recipes.
Mr. Dotson is survived by his wife, Gloria Dotson; sons, Jeffrey Dotson, Stephen Dotson, and Ben Dotson of Marietta; daughter, Cindy Jabaley (Rocky) of LaGrange; three grandchildren, Ramie Jabaley of Atlanta, Carol Jabaley-Smith (Cody) of Atlanta, and Tatum Dotson of Tampa, Florida.
In lieu of flowers, the family suggests that donations be made to the First Christian Church of Sandersville, P.O. Box 45, Sandersville, Georgia 31082.
Online condolences may be made expressed at mayandsmithfuneraldirectors.com.
May and Smith Funeral Directors is in charge of these arrangements.