Joseph William Dodd

1933 - 2025

Joseph William Dodd

Born: December 20, 1933 | Died: July 6, 2025

Joseph William Dodd, age 91, died on July 6, 2025, at his home in Maryville, TN. He was born on December 20, 1933, in Henrico County, Virginia to the late Robert Lee Dodd and Ruby Clark Dodd. He served in the United States Coast Guard during the Korean War era. Following his service, he received his B.A. degree from the College of William and Mary where he was a member of Lambda Chi Alpha fraternity and a varsity baseball player. After earning his M.A. and Ph.D. degrees from Tulane University, he taught for twenty-three years in the political science department at the University of Tennessee. At one period during the Vietnam War, he and two colleagues at UT undertook a study of the South Vietnam National Institute of Administration under a contract between UT and the US Agency for International Development. In addition to his works on Vietnam, he was the author of numerous studies on other societies in Southeast Asia. He also wrote two books which dealt with the 1982 Knoxville World's Fair. In 1987, he took early retirement from UT to pursue a second career in baseball coaching. Over the course of the next fifteen years, he coached at Maryville College, William and Mary, Warren Wilson College, Mars Hill College, East Tennessee State University, and Carson Newman University. He also served as a volunteer assistant with his son, Clark, who was the coach of the Reed City, MI high school baseball team. For many years, he was an avid sailor and member of the Concord Yacht Club. A lifelong lover of nature, sports, and learning, he will be truly missed by all those who knew him. He was an outstanding husband, father, grandfather, professor, and coach. He was preceded in death by sisters Lucille Dodd Hazelgrove and Dorothy Dodd Bigley; brother Robert Lee Dood, Jr. He is survived by his wife of 60 years, Dorothy Dyer Dodd; son and daughter-in-law, Clark and Wendy Dodd of Emigrant, MT; daughter and son-in-law, Betsy and Ken Mays of Maryville; grandchildren Alex and Erin Mays; sister, Sylvia Dodd Gusti; and numerous nieces and nephews. The family would like to extend their appreciation to all the staff of Blount Memorial Prisma Health and give special thanks to Dr. Andrew Dirmeyer, Dr. Peter Sershon, Dr. Peter Scott, and Dr. Eric Schrock for their exceptional care.

Per Joe's request, there will be no memorial service. Instead, please think fondly of him the next time you read a great book, watch an exciting game, or take a peaceful walk along the beach.