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John Leslie Doss Jr.

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John Leslie Doss Jr.

Birth
Death
14 Nov 2011 (aged 82)
Morgan County, Alabama, USA
Burial
Decatur, Morgan County, Alabama, USA Add to Map
Plot
Humes Addition/Section 16 Lot 15-2
Memorial ID
View Source
The Decatur Daily November 16, 2011

Longtime attorney Leslie Doss dead at 82
By Sheryl Marsh

For almost half of a century, Leslie Doss was a fixture at Morgan County Courthouse, practicing law, sharing theories, boasting about Alabama football and predicting local politics.

Doss died Monday at age 82.

His daughter, Ann Smith, said her father worked until the day before he checked into Decatur General Hospital two weeks ago.

"It was the most bizarre thing," Smith said of her father's death. "He had a lung scan in August, and they were clear. Two weeks ago, people kept texting me and my husband from the courthouse, saying, ‘Doss doesn't look good.' "

Smith said her father drove himself to the hospital two weeks ago and was found to have pneumonia, as well as cancer in his left lung and an unexplained injury to his right lung.

"They put him on a ventilator a week ago, and we had him taken off (Monday)," she said. "He fought for nine hours. He fought to the bitter end. The doctor said he's just a stubborn old cuss."

Doss died at 6:53 p.m. Monday, Smith said.

Smith and friends of Doss shared "Leslie stories."

"Leslie was my friend," attorney Bingham Edwards said. "He was good-hearted, opinionated and suspicious, but he had an astonishing memory and was fascinating.

"He could have been a character right out of a Dickens novel or, with his stark white hair, the subject of a Norman Rockwell painting.

"He never met a young lawyer, young politician or heard a conspiracy theory that he did not like."

Edwards recalled a dialogue between him and Doss about his theories.

"Leslie told me a tale about a politician that was just way beyond belief," Edwards recalled. "I told him I did not believe it and he said, ‘Bingham, my theory is that if I start a rumor and it comes back to me a week later, essentially unchanged, then there must be some truth to it."

Doss was a political trend-setter.

"He is credited with inventing waving as a campaign strategy in his successful race for county solicitor in 1962," Edwards said. "He would stand on the side of the road and wave at vehicles going by.

"Most politicians in Morgan County wish he had never started it because they think it's demeaning. But they have to do it because their opponent does it."

After serving as county solicitor (prosecutor) four years, Doss moved on to the state Legislature, serving in the House of Representatives from 1966-70.

A native of Decatur, Doss received a bachelor's degree from University of the South in Sewanee, Tenn., in 1948.

He received his juris doctorate from the University of Alabama School of Law in 1954.

He returned home in 1957 to practice law with former Judge Edward Breland.

Judges respected Doss.

"Leslie was unique among lawyers. In his own way, he vigorously represented his clients," said Circuit Judge Glenn Thompson. "Before the days of drug court, Leslie was one of the court's best resources for identifying defendants with drug- and alcohol-addiction problems.

"He not only represented people in the court system, but he was also able to rescue a lot of people from their addictions. I lost count years ago of the number of people he facilitated with treatment."

And he loved politics, Thompson said.

"His mind thought about politics constantly, and he could remember what happened in this county many years ago better than anybody I ever knew," Thompson said. "He knew where most of the skeletons were buried. We've lost a great source of information."

Doss' son, John Doss, said a client's visit to the hospital is etched in his memory.

"When my father was in ICU, a third-generation client, having just been told that Leslie Doss would never be able to help him again, came to the hospital room, dressed in a gown, mask and gloves, grabbed his hand and said, ‘I love you,' " John Doss said. "That is the measure of what he was to his client."

Smith reflected on her father's personality.

"He was like a cartoon character — one you could never forget," Smith said. "His passions were Alabama football and the Democratic Party. His favorite thing in the world was to bash all things Auburn and all things Republican."

Smith said her father actually worked from his hospital bed.

"Clients were calling him all day, and I heard him telling what room he was in and telling them to come on up and they'd finish their business," she said. "I said, ‘Daddy you can't have clients coming up,' and that was as far as I got."

Edwards said Doss was strong during periods of turmoil in his life.

For almost two decades, Doss was in the courthouse snack bar daily, talking politics — and meeting clients.

"He did his business out of here," said Brandon Royster, who runs the snack bar with his uncle, Neal Eastep. "He was here every morning about 9:30 a.m. until we closed every evening. He was a good guy."

Doss' funeral is 3 p.m. Friday at Church of The Annunciation of The Lord. Visitation will be 1-3 p.m. at the church.

THE DECATUR DAILY November 16, 2011

John Leslie Doss Jr.

Decatur

Funeral services for John Leslie Doss Jr., 82, will be Friday, November 18, 2011, at 3 p.m. at Annunciation of the Lord Catholic Church in Decatur. Visitation will be from noon until the service at the church with a private interment in Decatur City Cemetery. Roselawn Funeral Home directing.

He was preceded in death by his parents, John Leslie Doss Sr. and Leah Lucille Doss; his wife, Janie Will Fincher Doss and their twins, Janie Lynn Doss and John Leslie Doss III. He was a steadfast, loyal, and loving father to his daughter, Ann Doss Smith; his son, John Fincher Doss and his grandchildren, McCauley Doss Smith and Ann Leslie Smith, all of Decatur. He is also survived by his son-in-law, James M. Smith.

Leslie graduated from Riverside High School, Decatur, in 1944, The University of South, Sewanee, Tennessee, in 1948 and The University of Alabama School of Law in 1954. After law school, he served in the Army's Judge Advocate General's Corps and met his future wife, Jane, while stationed at Ft. McClellan in Anniston. He returned to Decatur in 1957 to practice law with Hon. Edwin Breland. He was elected Morgan County Solicitor in 1962 and to the Alabama House of Representatives in 1966. He practiced law in the State and Federal Courts of North Alabama for 54 years, making his last court appearance only one day before entering the hospital for his last illness. Leslie was a friend and confidant to his fellow attorneys and a fixture at the Morgan County Courthouse.

Pallbearers will be Judge Glenn E. Thompson, Judge Steven E. Haddock, Judge David J. Breland, Judge David H. Bibb, Hon. Carl M. Cowart Jr., and Hon. Bingham D. Edwards.

Honorary pallbearers are Hon. Robert H. Harris, Dr. Lynn Naylor and Dr. Scott Matthews, Hon. Robert Burrell and Mr. Eric Redus.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the Marie Young RN Bone Marrow Fund c/o Decatur General Hospital, P.O. Box 2239, Decatur, AL 35609. Checks should be made payable to "LifeSouth/Marie Young RN Bond Marrow Fund."
Published in the Decatur Daily on November 16, 2011
The Decatur Daily November 16, 2011

Longtime attorney Leslie Doss dead at 82
By Sheryl Marsh

For almost half of a century, Leslie Doss was a fixture at Morgan County Courthouse, practicing law, sharing theories, boasting about Alabama football and predicting local politics.

Doss died Monday at age 82.

His daughter, Ann Smith, said her father worked until the day before he checked into Decatur General Hospital two weeks ago.

"It was the most bizarre thing," Smith said of her father's death. "He had a lung scan in August, and they were clear. Two weeks ago, people kept texting me and my husband from the courthouse, saying, ‘Doss doesn't look good.' "

Smith said her father drove himself to the hospital two weeks ago and was found to have pneumonia, as well as cancer in his left lung and an unexplained injury to his right lung.

"They put him on a ventilator a week ago, and we had him taken off (Monday)," she said. "He fought for nine hours. He fought to the bitter end. The doctor said he's just a stubborn old cuss."

Doss died at 6:53 p.m. Monday, Smith said.

Smith and friends of Doss shared "Leslie stories."

"Leslie was my friend," attorney Bingham Edwards said. "He was good-hearted, opinionated and suspicious, but he had an astonishing memory and was fascinating.

"He could have been a character right out of a Dickens novel or, with his stark white hair, the subject of a Norman Rockwell painting.

"He never met a young lawyer, young politician or heard a conspiracy theory that he did not like."

Edwards recalled a dialogue between him and Doss about his theories.

"Leslie told me a tale about a politician that was just way beyond belief," Edwards recalled. "I told him I did not believe it and he said, ‘Bingham, my theory is that if I start a rumor and it comes back to me a week later, essentially unchanged, then there must be some truth to it."

Doss was a political trend-setter.

"He is credited with inventing waving as a campaign strategy in his successful race for county solicitor in 1962," Edwards said. "He would stand on the side of the road and wave at vehicles going by.

"Most politicians in Morgan County wish he had never started it because they think it's demeaning. But they have to do it because their opponent does it."

After serving as county solicitor (prosecutor) four years, Doss moved on to the state Legislature, serving in the House of Representatives from 1966-70.

A native of Decatur, Doss received a bachelor's degree from University of the South in Sewanee, Tenn., in 1948.

He received his juris doctorate from the University of Alabama School of Law in 1954.

He returned home in 1957 to practice law with former Judge Edward Breland.

Judges respected Doss.

"Leslie was unique among lawyers. In his own way, he vigorously represented his clients," said Circuit Judge Glenn Thompson. "Before the days of drug court, Leslie was one of the court's best resources for identifying defendants with drug- and alcohol-addiction problems.

"He not only represented people in the court system, but he was also able to rescue a lot of people from their addictions. I lost count years ago of the number of people he facilitated with treatment."

And he loved politics, Thompson said.

"His mind thought about politics constantly, and he could remember what happened in this county many years ago better than anybody I ever knew," Thompson said. "He knew where most of the skeletons were buried. We've lost a great source of information."

Doss' son, John Doss, said a client's visit to the hospital is etched in his memory.

"When my father was in ICU, a third-generation client, having just been told that Leslie Doss would never be able to help him again, came to the hospital room, dressed in a gown, mask and gloves, grabbed his hand and said, ‘I love you,' " John Doss said. "That is the measure of what he was to his client."

Smith reflected on her father's personality.

"He was like a cartoon character — one you could never forget," Smith said. "His passions were Alabama football and the Democratic Party. His favorite thing in the world was to bash all things Auburn and all things Republican."

Smith said her father actually worked from his hospital bed.

"Clients were calling him all day, and I heard him telling what room he was in and telling them to come on up and they'd finish their business," she said. "I said, ‘Daddy you can't have clients coming up,' and that was as far as I got."

Edwards said Doss was strong during periods of turmoil in his life.

For almost two decades, Doss was in the courthouse snack bar daily, talking politics — and meeting clients.

"He did his business out of here," said Brandon Royster, who runs the snack bar with his uncle, Neal Eastep. "He was here every morning about 9:30 a.m. until we closed every evening. He was a good guy."

Doss' funeral is 3 p.m. Friday at Church of The Annunciation of The Lord. Visitation will be 1-3 p.m. at the church.

THE DECATUR DAILY November 16, 2011

John Leslie Doss Jr.

Decatur

Funeral services for John Leslie Doss Jr., 82, will be Friday, November 18, 2011, at 3 p.m. at Annunciation of the Lord Catholic Church in Decatur. Visitation will be from noon until the service at the church with a private interment in Decatur City Cemetery. Roselawn Funeral Home directing.

He was preceded in death by his parents, John Leslie Doss Sr. and Leah Lucille Doss; his wife, Janie Will Fincher Doss and their twins, Janie Lynn Doss and John Leslie Doss III. He was a steadfast, loyal, and loving father to his daughter, Ann Doss Smith; his son, John Fincher Doss and his grandchildren, McCauley Doss Smith and Ann Leslie Smith, all of Decatur. He is also survived by his son-in-law, James M. Smith.

Leslie graduated from Riverside High School, Decatur, in 1944, The University of South, Sewanee, Tennessee, in 1948 and The University of Alabama School of Law in 1954. After law school, he served in the Army's Judge Advocate General's Corps and met his future wife, Jane, while stationed at Ft. McClellan in Anniston. He returned to Decatur in 1957 to practice law with Hon. Edwin Breland. He was elected Morgan County Solicitor in 1962 and to the Alabama House of Representatives in 1966. He practiced law in the State and Federal Courts of North Alabama for 54 years, making his last court appearance only one day before entering the hospital for his last illness. Leslie was a friend and confidant to his fellow attorneys and a fixture at the Morgan County Courthouse.

Pallbearers will be Judge Glenn E. Thompson, Judge Steven E. Haddock, Judge David J. Breland, Judge David H. Bibb, Hon. Carl M. Cowart Jr., and Hon. Bingham D. Edwards.

Honorary pallbearers are Hon. Robert H. Harris, Dr. Lynn Naylor and Dr. Scott Matthews, Hon. Robert Burrell and Mr. Eric Redus.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the Marie Young RN Bone Marrow Fund c/o Decatur General Hospital, P.O. Box 2239, Decatur, AL 35609. Checks should be made payable to "LifeSouth/Marie Young RN Bond Marrow Fund."
Published in the Decatur Daily on November 16, 2011


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