Calvin Lewis Dotson, Jr., known by most as Cal, departed this life for perpetual life in Paradise in the early morning hours of Sunday, October 8, 2023, from Sanctuary Hospice House. Cal was 60 years old. Born in the Mississippi Delta in Greenville on May 12, 1963, his parents were the late Calvin Lewis Dotson, Sr. and Josephine Elizabeth Maniscalco Dotson. He grew up in St. Joseph Catholic Church in Greenville and was christened and confirmed there. Cal graduated from St. Joseph High School in Greenville. He attended Delta State University. On July 17, 1987, he married June Gail Kimbriel at St. Joseph in Greenville. In the Delta, he was active in Community Theatre groups in Greenville, Cleveland, and Greenwood as an actor and director. Cal held board membership in Delta Children’s Museum, Rivertown Players, and the Greenville Arts Council. He directed a number of senior plays at St. Joe. For several years, Cal served as the “Voice of the Fighting Irish” as their football broadcaster. For several years, Cal and June, along with his parents, owned Dotson’s Village Furniture in Greenville. In 2008, he began working for Lowe’s. At one time, he had a “Do- It-Yourself” segment on the WXVT Television Morning Show in Greenville, where he taught others how to buy building supplies, build on their own, and be successful and economical in doing so. Cal and his family relocated to Tupelo in 2010 where he was employed at Lowe’s until he retired in 2017. In the 1980s and 1990s, Cal was often known as “The Delightful Dotson,” entertaining children and adults at their parties as a magician. The Dotson family are communicants of St. James Catholic Church in Tupelo.
A Mass of the Resurrection will be held at 11 AM Wednesday, Oct. 11, 2023, at St. James Catholic Church in Tupelo with Father Tim Murphy officiating. Internment will follow immediately in the St. James Columbarium. Visitation will be from 10 AM to service time on Wednesday only at the Church. For those unable to attend, the service will be livestreamed on the St. James Facebook page. Holland Funeral Directors-Tupelo is honored to serve their friends.
Honorary pallbearers will be the Knights of Columbus. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Sanctuary Hospice House, P.O. Box 2177, Tupelo, MS 38802.
Cal is survived by his wife, June Dotson of Tupelo; his sons, Calvin Dotson, III (Betsy), and James Paul Dotson of Tupelo; niece Dana Pruden Lyles (Robert) of Mandeville, LA, and nephews David Wesley Cobb of Cleveland, MS, Matthew Kimbriel of North Carolina; and sister Donna Dotson Cobb (Miles) of Greenville; and their families.
He was preceded in death by his parents, and his sister, Debra Dotson Pruden.
