Edward Dozier

AUBURNDALE -- Mr. Edward R. Dozier of Auburndale, the self-proclaimed "World's Best Pancake Maker," gave his family and friends lots of laughs, in addition to serving up a mean pancake.Mr. Dozier, who owned B & D Piping, died of heart disease Monday (Aug. 15, 2005). He was 73.Born on Oct. 6, 1931, in Elmore, Ala., he lived in Florida since 1938 and graduated from Orlando High School. He was a cook in the Navy during the Korean War.Mr. Dozier moved to Auburndale in 1971 to supervise the plumbing work for a new Polk Community College building.He later started B & D Plumbing. Among his projects were the fountains at the Grand Cypress hotel at Disney, one of the wave machines at Wet n' Wild, and other plumbing and air conditioning jobs at a variety of large businesses in the area.But on weekends, Mr. Dozier had another job: making pancakes."Every week he made them, and every week people would come to our house looking for them," said his wife, Helen Dozier.To the family, the pancakes weren't the "World's Best" for the taste alone. For his grandchildren, he made pancake consumption a more interesting experience with different shapes."First it was Mickey Mouse, but after that got old, he made dinosaurs and all sorts of things," Helen Dozier said.Though Mr. Dozier's pancake recipe was never written down, one of his grandchildren was taught how to make them, so his pancake tradition could live on with future generations of the family.Mr. Dozier was acting treasurer of the Auburndale chapter of Civitan, a club dedicated to serving community needs with an emphasis on helping people with developmental disabilities. He was a member of St. John's United Methodist Church in Winter Haven.Mr. Dozier is survived by his wife, Helen T. Dozier; sons, Mike Dozier, Middleburg, Ben Dozier, Ocala, and Stephen Mumford, Auburndale; daughters, Carol Tedder and Cheryl Addison, both of Perry, Diana Antoine, the Republic of Congo, Melanie VanPoppel, Ocala, Tilena Gutshall, Clewiston, and Leah Thompson, Winter Haven, brother, Jack Dozier, Dade City; 22 grandchildren; and nine great-grandchildren.A gathering of fellowship will be held Thursday from 5:30 to 7 p.m. at Oak Ridge Funeral Care, Winter Haven, with a memorial service at 7 p.m. Oak Ridge Funeral Care.