Doris Dawson Langston

Doris Dawson Langston

Doris Dawson Langston, age 95, was carried on angel's wings to her heavenly home on

July 20, 2025. Doris passed peacefully in Duluth, GA.

Doris was born in Johnson City, TN to Ted and Gertie (Johnson) Dawson on March 27,

1930. She moved with her parents several times during her childhood, associated with

her father's career at Swift and Company. They lived in Birmingham, AL, Nashville, TN,

Charlotte, NC, Atlanta,GA and Dublin, GA before settling in Jacksonville, FL in 1953.

Her high school years were spent in Atlanta, where she attended Girls High, and was in

the first co-ed graduating class of Henry Grady High School in 1947.. Doris began work

after receiving an associate Business degree. She and her best gal pal and Jacksonville

coworker, Shirley Long McGinnis, met their husbands Ed Langston and Richard

McGinnis, which began a lifelong friendship centered around Ed and Richard's

University of Florida alumni status and their mutual love of the Florida Gators.

Doris wed Reddin Edward Langston in 1955 in Jacksonville, FL. They were married for

61 years, before Ed's death in 2016. Southern Bell Telephone Company transferred

them to Jackson, MS immediately after they wed. Their 2 sons, David Edward &

Michael Dawson, were born in 1956 and 1957 in Jackson. During Ed's 30+ year career

with Southern Bell/at&t, the family lived in Orlando, FL and Atlanta, GA. Our family

considers both Orlando (where Karen Ann was born in 1966) and Atlanta as our "home

towns", where many special memories and friends were made on Lake Conway and in

Dunwoody. Falls were spent cheering for the Gators, and Summers included annual

vacations to the gulf shores of Florida - our favorite place to gather with extended family

and friends through the years. Doris and Ed were very social and always had large

circles of friends - playing bridge, attending community events and supporting their

children's interests from Boy Scouts and fishing, organ and dance recitals, and high

school/college football games through the years. Doris and Ed served together in every

community in which they lived. They raised their children to have faith in Jesus, serve

others and live with integrity and love.

Doris was a lifelong member of the United Methodist Church. She served joyfully with

the United Methodist Women (UMW) for decades. She volunteered with jail ministries,

as a church receptionist, and in hospital ministries. She and Ed were always active in

their Sunday School classes, with our Cabana Club on Lake Conway, and with Dad's

service to Kiwanis and the Southern Bell Pioneers. Well known for her ability to prepare

and elegantly serve an outstanding meal, Doris frequently hosted dinner parties and fed

family and friends around her perfectly-set table, or picnic-style by the lake or sea. She

was particularly well known for fabulous desserts. Her pound cake was a favorite and

specialty!

Doris and Ed entered retirement in Atlanta (Dunwoody), but returned to Jacksonville, FL

in 1990 to care for Doris's aging parents. Upon their passing, Ed and Doris moved to

the mountains of North Georgia and lived many years in Blairsville, GA - a mountain

community they truly loved. Doris continued to be active as a volunteer and church

leader in women's ministry into her 80's. She and Ed were reunited with Richard and

Shirley McGinnis in Blairsville, and cherished their friendship during these later years.

They also lived close to Ed's sister and husband, Lil & Dick Kerr, and shared many

special mountain memories with them. Doris loved spending time with her 2 grandsons,

Joe and Dawson, who she adored with great pride.

After Ed's death in 2016, Doris continued to reside in Blairsville with the assistance of

her son Michael. In 2017, she moved to a senior living residence near Karen, Evan &

Dawson in Duluth, GA. Parc Duluth became her final home, where she made many new

friends and participated in senior activities that fed her extroverted nature. She also was

able to continue to follow and watch her beloved Atlanta Braves baseball. Doris's love of

Atlanta was reignited, and Karen toured her often around the city, as Doris remembered

all the chapters of her life spent there.

Doris was preceded in death by her husband Reddin Edward Langston, her parents

Theodore and Gertrude (Johnson) Dawson, her brother-in-law Richard Kerr and

beloved niece Catherine Sue Kerr. She is survived by her sister-in-law Lillian Kerr, sons

David (Patrizia) and Michael, daughter Karen (Evan) Pardue and grandsons Joseph

(Sarah) Langston and Dawson Pardue. Her grandson Joseph and wife Sarah expect

their first child in August - a boy to be named Benjamin Apollo Langston. Benjamin will

be the first great-grandchild of Doris and Ed. We know there will be a heavenly

celebration of this new Langston life on earth!

Memorial for Doris will be a private family service. In lieu of flowers, please make a

donation to the United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR) UMCOR - Global

Ministries or a charity of your choosing honoring Doris. Please share your memories of

Doris on the Bill Head Funeral Home (Duluth, GA) website Obituaries in Tucker &

Duluth, GA | Bill Head Funeral Home... - we would love to hear from you.