Capt. Samuel L. Doak

Captain Samuel Lawall Doak, US Navy Retired, died on 10 March 2024, less than a month before his 96th birthday. He was born in Greeneville, Tennessee on March 31, 1928. He was the son of Samuel Armitage Doak and Mary Lawall Doak. He attended public schools in Greeneville and graduated from the US Naval Academy in 1950. Subsequently, he attended the Naval War College and later earned a Master of Arts degree from Boston University. During his 30 years as a commissioned officer, on the active list of the Navy, he served as commanding officer of an amphibious ship, ocean-going minesweeper, and a destroyer. Other sea duty included tours in destroyers and with the amphibious and service forces. Shore duty included tours with the service force, the faculty of the Naval War College, the Pacific Fleet staff and as a member of the organization of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. He was a commanding officer of the NROTC unit at Cornell University and was the deputy commandant of the Armed Forces staff College. His awards include the Legion of Merit and a bronze Star with a combat V. Following his retirement from the Navy, with more than 30 years of distinguished service, he returned to Tusculum College to serve as director of alumni affairs. He was elected to the board of trustees of the college in 1993 and served on the academic affairs, academic and student affairs, building and grounds and enrollment committees. In 2012 he was elected a life trustee of the college and continued to attend Board meetings and a variety of other events. Captain Doak and his wife, Emily, received the Tusculum College Distinguished Service Award, the highest honor given by the college, in 2011. In May 2014, Samuel L. Doak received an honorary doctorate of Humane Letters from Tusculum College. Samuel and his wife, Emily Ogburn Doak of 64 wonderful years who passed away in 2017. Samuel is survived by two daughters-in-law and two sons: Rhonda and Ralph Ogburn Doak of Chesapeake, VA and their children, Keith W. Hunter and Michelle Wiggins and her son Zachariah; and Janet and Samuel Ogburn Doak of Sarasota, FL and their two children Arcadia Emily Doak Crabtree and Samuel Augustus Moore Doak. Visiting hours will be at Doughty-Stevens from 5 -7 p.m. on May 2. A graveside service with military honors will be held at the Andrew Johnson National Cemetery on May 3 at 1:00 p.m. with the Reverend Jamie Lively officiating. In lieu of flowers, memorial gifts may be made to Tusculum College for: The Samuel Doak Endowed Scholarship Fund, Attention: Gracie Weems, P.O. Box 5040, Greenville, TN 37743-5040.Read Obituary