Douglas Clarence Person

Douglas Clarence Person was born to Solomon Timothy Person and Naomi Emma Brent Person on May 12, 1948 in Washington D.C.. He was the fourth of five children and was proceeded in death by his youngest sister Patricia Naomi (deceased on January 20, 2013) born on his birthday, exactly one year after him. He was also the grandson of the late T.C. Person, a Bishop in the Church of God and Saints of Christ. On April 21, 2023, at the age of 74 and 11 months, Douglas peacefully passed from this life.
Dougie, as he was affectionately known, was educated in Washington D.C.. He graduated from Roosevelt High School. He then entered Howard University and graduated in 1972 with a Bachelor’s degree in Accounting. Dougie also did course work in Anthropology and Sociology. In his spare time, Dougie apparently did a lot of driving and parking when he was at Howard University because his sisters, Mildred and Louvenia, lovingly remember paying off many, many of his parking tickets. While in graduate school he joined the Omega Psi Phi Fraternity. Some of his best friends, outside of those in his immediate family and his church family, were the brothers he met as a Que.
Dougie worked at the Brookings Institute and the Library of Congress. Most of his career, however, was spent at the Department of Transportation, Office of the Inspector General, Audit Division. He was an Auditor and retired from the Federal Government after almost 20 years of service. After his retirement, he moved to Zanesville in 1997 to be close to his mother, St. Naomi.
Dougie was dedicated to his family. He was one of the primary caregivers for his father Deacon Person when Deacon Person became ill. He was the son that moved to Ohio to be with this mother. He sent money to his siblings for them and their children. He helped his sister Mildred drive his niece to college in a car packed with so many belongings there was barely room to sit during the 11 hour ride. He was the uncle that would take you to the movies as a child and lovingly let you get anything you wanted to eat, sometimes resulting in a tummy ache when you got home. He was the big cousin that younger cousins came to stay with for the summer and the cousin that took the time and the risk to teach you how to drive in his blue VW. He was the nephew that you checked on and that called to check on you.
Douglas loved God and The Church of God and Saints of Christ. He supported the work of the Church in many capacities. He loved the choir and stood out, like his father did, with his perfect posture and light prance as he led the Washington DC tabernacle as the Sheppard during the choir march. The sweet songs of Zion were dear to him and he could often be found singing them from his hospital bed with his stepbrother Levi. In earlier years, Douglas tried his hand at composing songs. When he moved to Zanesville his work for the Church continued in the Zanesville tabernacle where he served as a Trustee and a Father Abraham.
Throughout his life, God was with him. God was with him because he took the Lord with him. The ‘angels’ on his path assisting him were many. They were family members, members of his church family, his attorney and all of the other saints of Christ. These were rays of brightness and heavy load sharers that made a difficult walk easier.
He leaves to cherish his memory three siblings (Mildred P. Harper, Louvenia C. Martin, and LeRoy Person), stepsiblings ( Levi, Harry, and Jeanie Singer), aunts (Elizabeth Patterson and Pamela Rush Middleton) an uncle (Benjamin Brent) nieces ( Stephanie Harper and Adena Martin), nephews ( Richard Person, Thomas
Harper, and Rimmon Martin), great nieces, great nephews,cousins, his church family and many friends. He was loved much and will be greatly missed.
You may call on the family Friday, May 5, 2023 from 1 p.m. until 2 p.m., with funeral service to follow at 2 p.m., at Church of God Saints of Christ, 516 Cliffwood Ave, Zanesville OH. Graveside burial will take place in Belleville Cemetery in Suffolk Virginia, on May 9, 2023. BURRELL FUNERAL SERVICES is serving the family. 

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