Loss of Doss

It’s been a month since my father passed away. While my family will continue to grieve and miss him, we rejoice that he’s finally free of pain and waiting for us on the other side.

As I carry on in this new year and new decade, I want to say a few words about a dear friend who also died last year. Dwaine Doss was born October 11, 1953 and died of heart failure on November 17, 2009. It’s almost inconceivable that Dwaine’s heart would fail him because he was my teammate for many years in many sports, including basketball, football, golf, and tennis. Dwaine had more heart than any athlete I ever knew.

He was a couple years older than me, a couple pounds heavier than me, and a couple inches shorter than me, but I always looked up to him as a tremendous athlete and friend. His skill in sports was usually due to his superior instincts over his opponent’s superior size. Anyone who underestimated him on the field, the course, or the court would soon find themselves losing the contest. He was a great strategist on the football field and the best all-around playmaker I played with on the basketball court. He made those around him better players as well.

But there was more to Dwaine than sports. He was a great piano player and an accomplished guitarist who once played guitar on stage with popular country crooner Sonny James at the Dallas Convention Center. On a smaller scale, he was always willing to sing along with my brothers and me in my living room. Whether we were singing popular hits by Alabama, The Gatlin Brothers, or The Statler Brothers, Dwaine was the only one of us who could sing all the parts while the Davis brothers confined themselves to singing along with the lead vocals.

Dwaine was my teammate and my friend for more than 25 years. I wish you could have known him too.