03/21/2025
To provide a simple way for those who want to contribute, weāve organized two giving options for anyone who feels led to support the Dozier family. Your generosity, prayers and compassion mean the world.
You may Venmo Bobby directly at: https://venmo.com/u/Bobby-Dozier-3 (Last 4 digits of phone number is 4238 if Venmo asks)
Checks and cash can be dropped off at Buzz Cuts Barber Shop by Jason Starnes
We also understand that many of you may want to stay updated on Bobby's journey. To help ease the stress and emotional burden on Bobby and his family, we kindly ask that all questions and concerns be directed to the family designated contacts listed below.
Melissa Schmidt 417-533-2307
Sarah Angst 417-533-2522
April True 417-588-0468
Feel free to text, call or private message
With all that being said, this is what the family is clinging to: God is saying to you today, āGive Me all your worries, all your burdens, all your fears-because I care for you more than you know. You were never meant to carry the weight of the world on your shoulders. That burden is Mine to bear. I see the anxieties that try to overwhelm you. I know the thoughts that keep you up at night. But I am your refuge, your peace, your ever-present help. Trust Me enough to release it all into My hands. I am working behind the scenes, orchestrating solutions, opening doors, and making a way where there seems to be no way. So, take a deep breath and let go. Rest in My love. Walk in My peace. I am holding you, guiding you, and leading you into a future filled with hope and victoryā
In just three weeks, your whole life can change. I never thought itād be dust that got me.
Iāve lived my whole life in Lebanon. My dad was a brick mason. He started in ā85, so I wouldāve been three years old when he started. I grew up around it. I was a little kid, hauling bricks, playing in the sand piles, thinking my dad was the coolest guy in the world when he worked downtown.
In high school, I helped him on jobs - spring breaks, summers, whenever I could. I tried doing other things. I went to school for automotive work. I worked at Missouri Eagle, MFA, Ron Hewlett Chevrolet. But one day, Dad was working on Craig Curryās house, and I stopped by. He put me to work, and that was it.
I tried my hardest not to do it. I really did. Itās hard work. No retirement. No guarantees. My dad always said heād work till he died, and I guess I figured I would too.
But itās in my blood. And Iām good at it.
Iāve worked on almost every building downtown.
Boat Town - That one meant a lot. We designed the outside, me and Dad, and Danny True gave us free range. He said, "Make it look old," so we did. It was a slow job, took forever, but when you go inside, thereās a brick in there with my name on it. My dadās name, too. A hundred years from now, maybe someone will see it and know we were here.
The base of the arches - That was us too. My dad and I donated the bases and tops, the precast. I said, "Well, at least I can do that." I wanted it to look right. I wanted it to last. That was the last job my dad and I did together before he retired.
I love seeing these buildings come back to life. I always said I wanted to touch every building downtown before I retire. And I have, almost.
When I walk through downtown, I see my work everywhere. I can look at a building and know I had a hand in it, that I made it better. Thatās a good feeling. Not everybody gets to say that.
I was supposed to be doing this for another 20, 30 years. I was supposed to finish what I started.
In August, I just got to feeling bad. I thought, Iām 42 years old, maybe Iām just worn out. My body ached, I was tired all the time. I honestly thought I was having a heart attack.
I went to the doctor, took antibiotics for ten days. Went back, still didnāt feel good. They put me on a higher dose for five more days. Took another X-ray. Still worse. They sent me to a pulmonologist.
Three weeks. Thatās all it took to go from thinking I was having a heart attack to them telling me, "You have silicosis, and itās going to kill you."
Silicosis is from breathing in silica dust. Thatās in everything Iāve worked around - mortar, concrete, fake rock, real rock. Some guys get it, some donāt. Iāve been around bricklayers my whole life, guys whoāve done this for 40, 50 years, and yeah, theyāve got a bad cough, they canāt breathe - but not like this. Not like me.
They told me itās chronic, which means Iāve had it for a long time. But for some reason, it just kicked into overdrive.
Thereās no cure.
The hardest part is not working. Iām still trying to finish the projects I have, but I donāt know whatās going to happen. Iām booked out over a year, and I still get phone calls every day. I donāt know what to tell people.
You work your whole life, and in a month, you can lose everything.
And then thereās my family. My wife, Dana, my kids. Thatās what I think about.
Danaās a kindergarten teacher. She works with little kids all day, every day. Weāve got four kids: 17, 15, and 5-year-old twin girls. I was done with the baby phase, and then Dana wanted one of her own. And we got blessed with twins. Theyāre the best thing that ever happened to us.
I donāt want them to see me sick.
Itās just hard.
I come home and the whole house just feels different. And I tell Dana, "Letās go. Letās get out of here. Letās go eat." Because I canāt sit in my own house and feel like Iām already gone.
I struggle to go to sleep at night. Some nights, I canāt breathe, and then I get scared to go to bed, because what if I donāt wake up?
I think about my dad. I still talk to him all the time. I go out and see him, and I just want to keep seeing him. He worked his whole life. He taught me everything I know. And I got to work with him every day. Not everybody gets that. That was a privilege.
And now I just hope I get to see him a little longer.
Weāre going to Mayo Clinic soon. Theyāll do more tests, see how bad it really is. Maybe they can slow it down. Maybe theyāll say thereās nothing they can do. I donāt know.
I wanted to keep building. I wanted to keep fixing things, making downtown better. I had plans.
Now, I donāt know what happens next.
I just wake up every day and try to follow where God leads and take one breath at a time.
Bobby Dozier, Dozier Masonry
************
To provide a simple way for those who want to contribute, weāve organized two giving options for anyone who feels led to support the Dozier family. Your generosity, prayers and compassion mean the world.
You may Venmo Bobby directly at: Bobby-Dozier-3 (last 4 are 4238 if Venmo asks) - Be careful when donating by Venmo. It looks like someone created a fake account with his name, just added a dash at the end. Make sure to use his number 4238 to confirm.
Checks and cash can be dropped off at Buzz Cuts.
We also understand that many of you may want to stay updated on Bobby's journey. To help ease the stress and emotional burden on Bobby and his family, we kindly ask that all questions and concerns be directed to the family designated contacts listed below.
Melissa Schmidt 417-533-2307
Sarah Angst 417-533-2522
April True 417-588-0468
Feel free to text, call or private message
With all that being said, this is what the family is clinging to:
God is saying to you today, āGive Me all your worries, all your burdens, all your fears-because I care for you more than you know. You were never meant to carry the weight of the world on your shoulders. That burden is Mine to bear. I see the anxieties that try to overwhelm you. I know the thoughts that keep you up at night. But I am your refuge, your peace, your ever-present help. Trust Me enough to release it all into My hands. I am working behind the scenes, orchestrating solutions, opening doors, and making a way where there seems to be no way. So, take a deep breath and let go. Rest in My love. Walk in My peace. I am holding you, guiding you, and leading you into a future filled with hope and victoryā
