Joseph Mack Dickson

Memorial Services for Joseph "Joe" Mack Dickson 72 of Temple will be held at 1:00 PM Saturday June 14, 2008 at the Scanio-Harper Funeral Home in Temple with Rev. Gary DeSalvo officiating. Mr. Dickson died Wednesday June 11, 2008 in a local hospital. Joseph Mack Dickson was born July 21, 1935, in Tulsa, Oklahoma, to Sloan Maxwell and Mary Mead Dickson. He grew up in Little Rock, Arkansas. As a child he was a member of the Boy Scouts of American and had earned the rank of Eagle Scout. He played football, basketball and ran track at Little Rock Central High School. Joe attended the University of Arkansas from 1954 to 1957, graduating with a BS degree in Business. He played basketball for the Razorbacks all of his college career. He received an MBA, with an emphasis in Hospital Administration, from the University of Chicago in 1962. He served in the U.S. Army Reserves from 1957 to 1968. He married Johnnie Mae Harris in 1959. He served at Shannon West Texas Memorial Hospital in San Angelo, Texas from 1961 to 1962. He was an administrator at University Hospital in Little Rock from 1962 to 1968, serving as the Associate Director from 1966 to 1968. In 1968 the family moved to Temple where he joined Scott and White Memorial Hospital, Scott, Sherwood and Brindley Foundation, as the Hospital Administrator. Joe oversaw the growth of the staff and facility, taking Scott and White to a level of national reputation and recognition never before seen. He oversaw over $75 million in facility expansion, the active medical more than tripled and institutional clinical research activities more than doubled. He retired from Scott & White in 1988. Following his retirement, Joe did consulting work in hospital administration, most notably taking Rollins Brook Hospital in Lampasas from receivership to operational status. One of Joe's greatest passions was that he served as the Executive Director of the Central Texas Children's Center from 1991 to present. In May 2008 Joe was named the Executive Director of the Year by United Way. Joe was a member of many profession organizations, including the American Hospital Association, the Texas Hospital Association, and the Central Texas Hospital Association. He was chairman of the AHA Joint Pharmacy Committee, served on many THA committees including serving as a member of the THA Board of Trustees in 1988, and served on the executive committee of the Texas Public Hospital Association from 1983-1985. Joe also served the community in many capacities. He was a junior auditor for the Legislative Audit Committee in Little Rock and an auditor for the Arkansas State Hospital. He was the chairman of the Bell County Board of Health from 1970 to 1972 and 1980-1982, serving as a member from 1968 to 1992. He served on the City of Temple Airport Advisory Board from 1977 to 1991. He also served as a Director for the Temple Chamber of Commerce from 1978-1980. He also served as a member of the Texas Legislative Task Force on Cancer from 1985 to 1986, and the Texas State Technical Institute Foundation Board from 1986-1988. He was also a member of the Temple Rotary Club for many years. He attended the Temple Bible Church. Joe is survived by his wife Johnnie Dickson and his three children Ashley (Carl Johnson), Brad (Angela Harrison), and Allison Dickson, and four grandchildren, Reid and Colin Johnson and Jessica and Jenna Dickson. In his free time he enjoyed golf, was an avid reader, and a voracious crossword puzzler. He was club champion at the Temple Country Club in 1978. He was preceded in death by a brother, Jerry, and his parents. In Lieu of flowers the family requests that memorials be made to the Central Texas Children's Center, 2000 Marlandwood Road, Temple, Texas 76502.