Willie Leroy Dozier, Jr, born in Norfolk, VA, transitioned from labor to reward on May 10, 2021.  Willie was born to Willie L. Dozier, Sr. and Sallie Ann (Savage) Dozier on July 12, 1940.  He grew up in the Campostella area and graduated from Booker T. Washington High School in 1958.  During childhood, Willie received the Lord at St. Thomas A.M.E. Zion Church and later in life, served as a Deacon at the Hampton University Memorial Church. He attended Norfolk Division of Virginia State College (Norfolk State University) and then received an art fellowship completing his studies earning a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Hampton Institute (University) in 1964.

Willie was very talented in the art field and excelled at drawing, painting, and photography.   One of his first jobs as a teenager was painting window signs for the Peoples Drug store chain across the Hampton Roads area.  After graduating from Hampton Institute (University), Willie became an art instructor at E. J. Hayes High School, in Williamston, NC for a few years.  In the late 1960s, he relocated back to Hampton, VA, and worked as a submarine and aircraft carrier illustrator at Newport News Shipbuilding.  He was also an adjunct professor in the Fine Arts department at Hampton University for several years. As a consummate entrepreneur, he enjoyed managing his own printing/advertising businesses through the years including Zebra Printing and Pembroke Printing.

Willie was preceded in death by his parents, Willie L. Dozier, Sr. and Sallie Ann Dozier and wife Ethel Smith Dozier.  He is survived by his daughters Angelita Maria Dozier (Bowie, MD) and Aileen Elizabeth Dozier (Fuquay-Varina, NC); his sister Aileen Dozier Accra (Fort Washington, MD), his grandson Anderson Smith Dozier (Bowie, MD), and many other cousins and friends.  The family extends their sincerest appreciation to family, friends, and neighbors.

Services will be held Monday, May 17, 2021, at Pretlow and Sons Funeral Home in Chesapeake, VA with a viewing from 10:30 am -11 am, immediately followed by the funeral service.  Interment will be at Riverside Memorial Park Cemetery in Norfolk, VA.

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