It was 1969 and Dr. James Dawson had just graduated with a Ph.D. in chemistry from Georgia Tech. He had job offers, but they were out-of-state and he didn't want to relocate.
Someone, jokingly, suggested he contact then-governor Lester Maddox for help with his search. He did. The late governor, to his surprise, wrote back with advice: apply at the Georgia state crime lab.
"James kept that letter," said Deborah Hiter Dawson, his wife of 22 years. "I have it now."
Dr. Dawson took the governor's advice and was hired as the assistant director of the state crime laboratory, part of the Georgia Bureau of Investigations. Nearly 20 years later, he was appointed deputy director of the GBI's forensic sciences division, a post he held until retirement in 1997.
During his tenure, he handled high-profile cases like the Atlanta child murders, and the Alday murders in which six relatives were slain in south Georgia. He played a vital role in the implementation of the state's emergency response strategy for the 1996 Summer Olympics.
And Mike B. Fordham, a GBI agent from Richmond Hill, said the scientist advocated for the state to require comprehensive training for county medical examiners.
"He was an expert in his field," he said. "Even though his discipline was chemistry, he just got engaged, and knew all the different services and capabilities of the division of forensic sciences."
Dr. James Byron Dawson of White Plains was preparing for a kidney transplant when he died Sunday at Athens Regional Medical Center. He was 69. A memorial will be held at 11 a.m. Wednesday at Liberty United Methodist Church in White Plains, a community in Greene County. McCommons Funeral Home of Greensboro is in charge of arrangements.
Dr. Dawson's GBI career meshed two things he loved -- medicine and law enforcement. He respected the officers and took pride in helping agencies and departments figure out crimes.
Dr. Dawson grew up in Winterville and was a 1960 graduate of Athens High, where he played baritone sax in the band. He earned his bachelor's and master's degrees from Georgia Tech. He was certified as a forensic scientist by the Georgia Peace Officers and Training Council.
Lamar Palmer, a former sheriff and current commissioner in Walton County, said Dr. Dawson was dependable and took time to explain autopsies. Palmer was also the sheriff's department's crime scenes photographer.
"He was top-notch," he said. "A friend to law enforcement."
After retirement, Dr. Dawson and his wife moved from Snellville to Lake Oconee, where they built a home.
"He respected people from every echelon," his wife said. "He treated everybody just the same."
Additional survivors include daughters, Lisa Eavenson of Savannah and Melanie Anderson of Knoxville, Tenn.; a son, Charles Dawson of McDonough; stepsons, Will Fowlkes of Jefferson and Brent Fowlkes of Tuscaloosa, Ala.; sister, Beckie Hargrove of Hiawassee; and 11 grandchildren.
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