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A resolution honoring the life and legacy of Dorothy “Dot” Dobbins.
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WHEREAS, Dorothy Eileen “Dot” Dobbins was born on July 17, 1947, in Bowling Green, Kentucky. Her father, C. Ray Dobbins, was an ordained minister, and her mother, Mary Alice Smith Dobbins, was an elementary school teacher; and
WHEREAS, Dot was the second of seven children. She grew up in Memphis, where she attended Central High School. After graduation, Dot attended Southern Methodist University (“SMU”) in Dallas, Texas, where she studied politics, religion, and history; and
WHEREAS, while in college, she became active in the YWCA, attending programs in New York and Berkeley. She also participated in the memorial march for Martin Luther King, Jr. in Memphis in April 1968. She graduated from SMU in 1969; and
WHEREAS, after graduation, Dot worked for a year in welfare services in Dallas and then became a resident advisor to disadvantaged teenage girls in a Job Corps program in New Jersey for one year. After these experiences, she decided to attend law school; and
WHEREAS, in 1971, Dot entered Vanderbilt Law School as one of only twelve women in a class of 150. For Dot, law school was a way to engage in her passion of community service, joining the organization now known as Legal Aid Society of Middle Tennessee to provide legal assistance to low income and vulnerable members of the community; and
WHEREAS, after law school, Dot began working full time at Legal Aid. She worked at Legal Aid for 13 years, becoming the head of its family law unit; and
WHEREAS, in addition to her work with Legal Aid, Dot became a passionate advocate in Nashville. She worked with the Nashville YWCA to establish the first domestic violence shelter in the city. Dot was also an advocate for women in the practice of law, becoming a founding member of the Lawyers’ Association for Women, which was established in 1981; and
WHEREAS, in 1987, Dot was invited to serve as the General Counsel for the Tennessee Department of Human Services. One of her greatest accomplishments was the passage of the Tennessee Uniform Standard of Child Support Law, passed in 1989; and
WHEREAS, in 1990, Dot left the Tennessee Department of Human Services and began practicing law in the private sector. In 1993, she partnered with her Vanderbilt Law School classmate Irwin Venick to establish the firm of Dobbins & Venick. She continued in private practice for 20 years; and
WHEREAS, Dot also continued her work in the public sector, serving on the Metropolitan Social Services Commission and as a trustee of the public policy committee of Senior Citizens, Inc. She also helped draft the first Order of Protection legislation in Tennessee to allow courts to issue orders to protect victims against abuse; and
WHEREAS, Dot was also committed to the Alternatives to Violence Project (“AVP”), which is an international movement which offers experiential workshops that sensitize participations to violent tendencies in their lives and help them learn ways to defuse conflict and confront. In 2006, she was trained and certified as an AVP facilitator and participated in numerous AVP workshops. She had conducted an AVP exercise for the Nashville Friends Meeting on the very day that she died; and
WHEREAS, Dot was also a founding member of the co-housing project of Germantown Commons, the first of its kind in Tennessee. Germantown Commons was founding in the co-housing community model meant to nurture a sense of community and neighborly bond; and
WHEREAS, Dot was married to Paul Schrag from 1978 until his death in 2008 after a battle with a rare, degenerative neurological disease, through which Dot served as a devoted caregiver; and
WHEREAS, Dot’s rich life was tragically cut short on June 8, 2025, when she was struck and killed by a vehicle while walking her dog, Angel, in a crosswalk on 3rd Avenue North in Germantown; and
WHEREAS, Dot is survived by her daughter Nan, son-in-law, and four grandchildren. She was a true pillar of the Nashville community, and her tragic loss will be felt by many; and
WHEREAS, it is fitting that the Metropolitan Council honors the life of Dorothy “Dot” Dobbins for her many contributions to Nashville and Davidson County.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE METROPOLITAN GOVERNMENT OF NASHVILLE AND DAVIDSON COUNTY:
Section 1. That the Metropolitan Council hereby goes on record as honoring the life and legacy of Dorothy “Dot” Dobbins and reflect on her important contributions to Nashville and Davidson County.
Section 2. This Resolution shall take effect from and after its adoption, the welfare of the Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County requiring it.