Obituaries

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Joann Renita Dottin was born in Cambridge, Massachusetts on August 10th 1956.  She passed away on Wednesday, January 9th, 2019.  She was the youngest child of Josephine and Ivan Dottin.  Joann had three siblings: Yvonne, Yvette and her twin sister Josette.

Joann attended the Morse Elementary School in Cambridge.  Her formative years were spent vacationing in Montserrat (British Overseas Territory) where her mother Josephine was born.  She also took family road trips in her father’s station wagon down South and barnstormed each neighborhood in Boston in the late 1960s and 1970s winning dance competitions with her sister Josette. Throughout their travels the two were affectionately known as, “The Twins.”

Joann graduated from Cambridge, Rindge and Latin School.  She went on to work at the Registry of Motor Vehicles and volunteered at the Cambridge City Hospital where she received several distinctions for her service.  During the 1970s, Joann won numerous awards playing softball as a pitcher in the Cambridge Women’s Softball League.

While Joann was involved in many community activities and worked in several places, she told anyone willing to listen that her most important role was as the mother of her two sons Randall and Dion.  Joann was one of those original, “That’s my baby” type of the mothers. Her main purpose in raising her sons was to instill in them an appreciation for and commitment to service, fairness and character.

Though she struggled with challenges so grave that they separated her from family, she sought help and successfully worked on herself.  Joann worked as hard as she could and was able to live the last 25 years of her life independently.  She said that she would do anything to be with her children every day.

Joann had a deep faith in the future and displayed an intensely optimistic outlook on life that was contagious.  When Joann saw a friend or family member, she wouldn’t just offer a kind word.  She would greet you as if you were a 1970s R & B star, and she was your biggest fan.  Family members received an animated, “Hey cuz!” And friends would get a, “Hey, Hey Hey!!” or she would just squeal with joy at the sight of you.

Joann is survived by her sons Randall Ivan Dottin and Dion Darrin Dottin; her siblings Chesterfield Gibson, Jean Forde (deceased), Yvonne Dottin, Yvette Dottin and Josette Dottin (deceased); nieces Tinika, April, Tyisha and Sharnia and nephews Ronald and Tarenze as well as numerous cousins from the Cassell Family and the Dottin Family.

Joann made you feel good when you were around her. She was a giver. She was a daughter. She was a sister. You always wanted Joann at your party because she got the party started. She was a dancer. She was an athlete. She was the Mayor of Central Square. To family and friends, Joann was everyone’s biggest champion.