Joe Bill Dickerson, 88, husband, father, and grandfather (“Pop”), died Saturday, March 24, in Hospice at Piedmont Athens Regional (Piedmont) after a three-year struggle with Alzheimer’s Disease. An only child, he was preceded in death by his parents, Joe Willie and Anne (Wheeler) Dickerson of Homerville, Georgia and his wife of 52 years, Gloria Gettier Dickerson. He is survived by his step-mother, Elva Lee Dickerson (Homerville, GA), step-sister Diane Landrum Gilbreath (Homerville), step-brother Morris (Laura) Landrum, and his only child, Joseph Edmund “Joe Ed,” daughter-in-law Sharyn, grandsons Thomas, William, and James, and numerous nieces and nephews.
Joe Bill graduated from Homerville High School in 1947. He attended Abraham Baldwin Agriculture College (Milledgeville, GA) for two years and then transferred to the University of Georgia (UGA) where he completed a Bachelor of Science in Agricultural Science (1950). In 1951, he enlisted in the United States Air Force (USAF) and was one of only 100 men in the 3700th Officer Candidate Training Group at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas. There he was trained in chemical, biological and radiological warfare. He served until August 1953, rising to rank of 1st Lieutenant before entering the Reserve and serving until June 1961 when he received an honorable discharge. He returned to UGA and received a B.S. in Pharmacy (1956). He began his Pharmacy career at Dunaway Drugs (Marietta, GA), took a job in Sales with Eli Lilly (1957), and then returned to Athens to work for Lyons Pharmacy (1960-1964). In 1964, UGA’s School of Pharmacy hired him as a Clinical Pharmacy Associate. He worked 32 years until his retirement (1996). He served 10 years as adviser for UGA’s Phi Delta Chi and earned recognition from his students, including being named Phi Delta Chi’s 1987 Teacher of the Year and 1991 Pharmacist of the Year. He also worked as a Pharmacist for 27 years at St. Mary’s Hospital (1968-1995). Joe Bill realized retirement was not for him, so in 1996, he became the Pharmacist for the Methadone Detox Rehab Clinic (Athens); working 14 years and retiring just shy of his 81st birthday.
He is remembered for wearing bow ties and the annual UGA Alumni BBQ. Whenever he travelled in Georgia, he would stop at local pharmacies and often find a former UGA student working behind the counter. He loved fishing, gardening, and dogs, but most of all, he loved his three grandsons. He spent a great deal of time with them as they were growing up and has left an indelible mark on their lives.
The family will receive visitors on Saturday, March 31 from 4 PM to 6 PM at Lord & Stephens Funeral Home of Athens (East). In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made in his name to the Athens Area Humane Society.
The family wishes to extend sincere appreciation and gratitude to Jasen Blehm with Home Instead Senior Care of Athens for his friendship and care for Joe Bill over the last three years; the nurses and staff at Avery Memory Care in Winterville; the nurses and CNAs on the Orthopedic floor at Piedmont; and Tom Bowers and Kerry King, friends and nurses at Piedmont who provided support and care in Joe Bill’s final hours.
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