Tommie L (Davis) Dozier

A Memorial Service for Tommie Lee Davis Dozier will be held on Saturday, September 1, 2018 at 12:00 Noon, at Town Creek #1 M.B. Church, with the Reverend Edward Franklin, Officiating. Family visitation will be held 11:00 a.m. - 12:00.

She was born Tommie Lee Davis on September 9, 1922 to Lizzie Mae Nawhaw Davis and Theodore Davis, in Landersville, Alabama.  She was the second child in a family that would in time number 7 children.  Tommie accepted Christ as her savior at an early age, getting baptized at Town Creek No. 1 Missionary Baptist Church. 

Tommie was a smart, curious, energetic child.  In school she earned good grades and also played on the girls high school basketball team.  After graduating from Moulton Rosenwald Negro High School, Tommie taught elementary school, saving her money to leave Alabama.  After secretly making her own living arrangements, she moved to Detroit, Michigan in 1944.    In Detroit Tommie worked for a short time at Chrysler.  Following her lay-off from Chrysler she went to work for Schwab & Frank, a small tool and die shop, where she was a lathe operator. There her strength of character as a young adult was recognized when she became a union organizer.

It was in Detroit in 1945 that Tommie met and subsequently married Oscar James Dozier on February 6, 1946.  She joined his church, New Mt. Zion Missionary Baptist Church and faithfully served in various capacities.   Tommie was a Sunday school Teacher, Superintendent of the Sunday school Primary Department, a member of the Missionary Society, sang in the Senior Choir, was a member of the Trustees’ Wives, and a delegate to the National Baptist Convention.  As a woman of great faith she was a dedicated servant at New Mt. Zion for more than 30 years.  

Tommie and Oscar both wanted to be parents.  Together they had two children.  Cheryl Ann was born on July 4, 1951 and James Garry was born on December 9, 1954.  They were hardworking, dedicated parents that provided a Christian upbringing and instilled self-confidence, a thirst for knowledge, and a sense of honesty that continues to serve them well.

Tommie returned to Alabama in 1986 to care her mother.  Although she had left the farm to strike out on her own, she loved being back home.  With the passing of her mother, Lizzie Mae, she stayed in Alabama to share the family home with her sister, Mildred Smith.  These two sisters shared a strong bond and lived together more than 30 years.  They were only separated by Tommie’s frequent trips back to Detroit and when illness caused Tommie to begin residence at Madison Manor Nursing Home in December 2017.   High energy served Tommie well through all her commitments.  She was a person that could be counted on to complete the task.  She loved to travel and those travels took her from New York to California, with several stops in Canada.  While she was a great cook, growing up she preferred to work in the fields and often bragged about how much cotton she could pick.  She made the lightest homemade rolls and you could always count on a freshly baked cake for Sunday dinner.  

Tommie is preceded in death by husband, Oscar James Dozier, siblings Johnnie Mae (Bibb), Ethel (Thirlkill), Cleo (Brown), Henry Davis and half-sister Ella McCord.  Missing her and cherishing her memory are her children, Cheryl Ann Dozier Forte, James Garry Dozier and his wife Veronica, their children, Tommie’s grandsons Colton and Collin Dozier, and her loving sisters Mildred Smith and Lottie Bea Brown.  Additionally there is a host of nieces and nephews in Alabama, Ohio and Michigan as well as other family members and friends that will lovingly cherish her memory

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