We should all be so fortunate as to have an English teacher extraordinaire, like Ms. Jackie Dobie. I was lucky to be in that number, one of the many students she taught at Bowling Green School back in the day. While I am not privy to the exact years, I can say with certainty that she was an exceptional educator at BGS for the era from 1973 on.
In the past, I've alluded to the significant influence Ms. Jackie had on me, as a young student. She taught me English in the fourth, fifth, and sixth grades at BGS, and I was happy as a clam in her class.
The grammar she instilled has remained with me for life. I took it with me first to LSU and then to Tulane Law School where I taught legal research and writing as a third-year fellow. This would not have been possible without the foundation I received in elementary school from Ms. Jackie Dobie. In addition, this column is owed in no small part to her early instruction. While I would never give my wonderful high school English teachers --- Bonnie Bernstein and Becky Miller spring to mind --- short shrift, I maintain that my love of the English language began in fourth grade, courtesy of Jackie Dobie.
Back to the beginning, Ellen Jacqueline "Jackie" Ott was born in October of 1937 in McComb, Mississippi, to John Monroe and Grace Eleanor Ott. Jackie --- the beloved sister of Dr. Peggy Ott, Leah Ott Johnson, and Mary Virginia Ott --- was raised in Mt. Hermon. Their father owned and operated, together with his brother George Herbert "Sam" Ott, Ott Brothers, the well-known mercantile, and also a cotton gin at Mt. Hermon. And their grandfather Walter Thomas "W. T." Ott was, in 1911, the first Washington Parish Fair President.
In addition, Brigadier General Edward Stanley Ott, the son of Mr. and Mrs. Elbert Weston Ott --- Jackie's Uncle Wesley and Aunt Mattie --- was her father's first cousin. And Ms. Jackie revered him. Describing General Ott, who was a friend of my father's, she told me, "He really loved where he was from." She explained that even overseas he looked up people, who were from this area, taking great interest in them. And so it was with Ms. Jackie and her students --- like her Cousin Stanley, as she called him, she embraced them.
A Mt. Hermon native, cradle to grave, and member of the Mount Hermon Methodist Church, Ms. Jackie graduated from Mt. Hermon High School in 1956 as Valedictorian. She matriculated at Centenary College in Shreveport where she was active in Chi Omega and the Centenary College Choir. Graduating in 1960 with a Liberal Arts degree, she earned her Master's plus 30 from the University of Southern Mississippi.
Ms. Jackie's esteemed career in education began in Shreveport where she taught at Judson Street Elementary. And she also taught at Kentwood Elementary before wedding bells rang. In the early 1960s, Jackie wed George Leslie "Joe" Dobie, her mate for life.
And she continued to teach --- in Amarillo, in the Panhandle of Texas; at BGS, where she also served on the Board of Directors; and at Mt. Hermon School, until her retirement. A born educator, Ms. Jackie described a good day, in our 1981 BGS yearbook, as one when "everyone has had a creative day."
And maybe one with music. How well I remember the melodious music --- Ms. Jackie directed the Chorus --- and elaborate holiday programs she planned at BGS. You simply haven't experienced "She'll Be Coming Round The Mountain When She Comes" until you've heard Jackie Dobie's rendition and been under her direction. Her voice was mellifluous. The piece, first in print (Carl Sandburg) in 1927, is derived from a Christian spiritual about the Second Coming of Christ. The lyrics --- "She'll be driving six white horses" and "Oh, we'll all go out to meet her" --- never left me.
Nor did the lines of "Twas the Night Before Christmas" by Clement C. Moore --- Ms. Jackie had me recite it, from memory, to the BGS student body for a Christmas program. A rendition that left me shaking in my boots. But I muddled through it.
Something that came more naturally to me was handwriting. Once upon a time, my penmanship was pretty perfect. Taking note, Ms. Jackie pulled me out of class on multiple occasions to handwrite various materials. My mother was wholly unaware until I told her when she was in her eighties; the unvarnished truth --- forget the handwriting, I enjoyed getting out of class and sitting in the teachers' lounge.
While both brilliant and talented, Ms. Jackie wasn't all work and no play. I have a tide of memories of Halloween hayrides at her home at Mt. Hermon. Rigged up in costumes, guests descended on the Ott and Dobie property. A great time was had by children and adults alike. And in later years, when Ms. Jackie and Mr. Joe traveled with their farm goods to the Farmers' Market in downtown New Orleans, she would meet me in Mandeville on their way to or from with special, scrumptious homemade goodies.
But it's always later than we think. Passing peacefully away on January 10, Ms. Jackie left to cherish her memory her husband of sixty-four years George L. "Joe" Dobie, and their three loving children Leslie Dobie, Katie Mercer (Shawn), and David Dobie (Kathy).
She was also survived by her grandchildren to whom she was devoted: Danny Cannatella (Kaitlin Henby), Anna Claire Brown (Wesley), Matt Mercer (Emily Rigney), Kimberly A. Dobie, Conner M. Dobie, and Emma C. Dobie.
And Ms. Jackie left behind a passel of friends and former students, all of whom admired her.
Sadly, Mr. Joe (1935-2026), a native of Eldorado, Arkansas, and a graduate of Centenary College, recently passed away at age ninety on March 23, 2026. He was a well-known dairyman at Mt. Hermon. The couple also had a great-grandson, Jack Brown.
The Dobie family included the following beautiful, poignant line regarding the departure of their mother: "Words cannot express the loss that we all feel at the passing of our beloved mother, but we know she is with God in Heaven waiting for our arrival one day." She was there when Mr. Joe arrived.
In her debt, I miss my beloved English teacher already.
