Birth Date: 07/03/1930
Deceased Date: 02/23/2022
T. Yates Dobson, Jr.
July 3, 1930 – February 23, 2022
The Honorable Tyson Yates Dobson, Jr., age 91, of 215 North Second Street, died February, 23, 2022, at UNC Johnston Health in Smithfield, North Carolina. A graveside service will be held at 2:30 p.m., Sunday, February 27, 2022 at Sunset Memorial Gardens in Smithfield. Officiating will be the Reverend Lee Colbert.
Judge Dobson was born in Duplin County in the town of Kenansville, N.C. on July 3, 1930 to Tyson Yates Dobson, Sr. and Ruth Ervin Dobson. He was preceded in death by his parents and siblings, John Dobson, Edith Dobson, Kathryn Dobson Barbee and Ervin Garrison Dobson. He is survived by his wife of 69 years, Pansy Edwards Dobson, and three daughters, Dee Dobson Harper (Keith) of Tarboro, N.C., Ruth Tyson Dobson-Torres (Victor) of Morrisville, N.C., and Caroline Dobson Chavez (Craig) of Raleigh, N.C.
Yates spent his sophomore and junior years of high school at Edwards Military Institute, before graduating from Beulaville High School in 1948. He enjoyed sports, including football, basketball, and especially baseball. He had the good fortune to play on a semi-pro baseball Potters Hill team. His standout memory of that time was hitting four home runs during a game against rival Trenton.
He earned a bachelor’s degree in English from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. During his freshman year, Yates and a fellow student earned a spot in the Yackety Yack college yearbook as Horseshoe Champions. He also earned a Student Teaching certificate at Goldsboro High School. A fellow student teacher of his during the time was actor Andy Griffith.
Yates was drafted into United States Army and also married another Duplin County native, Pansy Delora Edwards. At the start of their marriage, they lived in Fairbanks, Alaska where Yates was stationed at Ladd Air Force Base, providing Army ground support during the Korean Conflict. He considered Alaska to be a place of striking beauty. He recalled one particularly cold season where the temperature reached 71 degrees below zero and the ice on Chena River froze to 45 inches thick. In 1955 after his military service ended, he returned to the University of Chapel Hill to attend law school. He graduated and earned his Juris Doctor degree in 1957, having completed his studies in only two years under a special accelerated program.
Yates launched his law career in Clayton, N.C. He was elected judge of the Clayton Recorder’s Court where he tried civil cases and held preliminary hearings for felony cases. In 1965, he moved his family and law practice to the county seat of Smithfield, where he remained for the entirety of his career. Yates’ law practice was spent as a defense attorney in the criminal courts. A notable trial lawyer for many years, he was respected as a tenacious litigator and admired because many of the cases he accepted were for clients wholly unable to compensate him. One case of note that he argued on behalf of a client had a decision upheld by the North Carolina Supreme Court.
In 1988 Yates was elected as a judge to the North Carolina District Court – Third Judicial District for the first of three consecutive elected terms. The bench was a place of reverence for him, and his role as judge was a source of pride in striving for fairness and respect for all who appeared in his court. Upon retirement, he often and with pleasure served as an emergency judge. He was especially proud to have held court in 49 of North Carolina’s counties. Yates served on the bench honorably and with great distinction until retiring on June 20, 2002. Overall, he earned the respect and admiration of colleagues in the legal community for his ability as a litigator, his keen understanding of human nature, his forthright and forceful defense of those less fortunate, and his wisdom as a trial judge.
He was a deft guitar player and often could be seen playing his favorite country songs on his North 2nd Street front porch stoop. Many a warm day found him playing golf with friends and in tournaments at the Johnston County Country Club and other area courses. A natural entertainer, he displayed his acting chops in the Neuse Little Theater productions of “Inherit the Wind,” which harkened to his own legal career, and “South Pacific.” At one point, Yates was noticed by an NC talent agency, Marilyn’s, which represented him for print and commercial work, including a regional commercial for Golden Corral. He wrote poetry throughout his life, and his poem, “The Lonely Soldier,” which was inspired by a cousin who died in World War II, was published in the newspaper when it was first written years ago, then online on a poetry website in later years. He was active in civic, community and church affairs, being longtime a Sunday School class teacher at First Baptist Church in Smithfield, North Carolina.
Yates was a Tar Heel fan, a dedicated crossword puzzle player, an enthusiastic dove and quail hunter, a fan of cats, a ready conversationalist who knew no stranger, a person who enjoyed the NC Coast, and was handy with a joke in any company. He was a supportive husband and father with an unconditional love for his family. A faithful Christian, he was a man who found friends across social strata and circumstance and who sought the good in every heart.
His family will miss him deeply and daily but will be ever thankful for his place and loving influence in their lives.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to the SECU Hospice House of Johnston Health in Smithfield, NC. Visit https://www.johnstonhealth.org/donate/make-a-donation and select, “Hospice Fund.”
Online condolences may be sent to the family at parrishfh.com.
RIP Your Honor. It is a privilege to have known you both professionally and personally. Prayers to your family and friends
To be honest I t thought Yates had passed away a few years back. Would always see him at what was then Edwards IGA, then stopped seeing him, Sending my condolences to his family.