Dr. Joseph Edward Addison

Dr. Joseph Edward Addison was a loving husband, father, grandfather, great-grandfather, brother, and friend. He died peacefully on July 4, 2026, surrounded by his family.

A lifelong Houstonian by way of St. Mary Parish in Louisiana and proud graduate of Jack Yates High School, he went on to earn his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in music and public administration from Texas Southern University, where he pledged Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc., and his PhD in Educational Leadership from Duplichain University.

The degrees told only a small part of his story. Dr. Addison was a classically trained tenor and pianist who sang the great operatic repertoire and was among the first Black soloists to perform at Houston’s Jones Hall with the Houston Grand Opera.

It was that gift he carried into the classroom. Dr. Addison served over fifty years with the Houston Independent School District (HISD), the same district that educated him. Generations of students sang and learned under his direction as a music teacher and choir director, first at Ryan Middle School and later at Jesse H. Jones High School, where he was deeply beloved, and he rose through the ranks of school leadership to close his career as Principal of Hartman Middle School, serving with distinction for 23 years. There he shaped countless lives of staff and students alike, and helped make the school’s new campus a reality. He was active in social and charitable organizations, serving on various community and civic boards. Dr. Addison was honored with numerous awards and citations across five decades of public service, including multiple recognitions as HISD Principal of the Year and appointment by the Governor of Texas to the Selective Service Board. And through it all, he remained a proud, lifelong member of Trinity United Methodist Church, where he served as Choir Director for nearly fifty years.

Away from the choir loft and the principal’s office, his joys revolved around music, books, time with family and friends, and watching sports, especially basketball and tennis.

He was preceded in death by his mother, Pearl Wise Dotson; his father, Joseph J. Addison; his godmother, Trula Williams, who lovingly raised him; his sisters, Doris Monroe and Barbara J. “Bobby” Dotson; his brother, Curley J. Dotson; and his nephews, Danarick U. Dotson and Barry E. Dotson.

He leaves to cherish his memory his beloved wife, Dr. Mary M. (Duplechain) Addison; his children, Lt Col (Ret.) Jeffrey E. Addison, USAF, and Melanie E. Addison; his granddaughters, Jasmine S. Harbor, Josofine R. Addison, 2nd Lt Ceily R. Addison, USAFR, and Edie M. Addison; his great-granddaughter, Lennox J. Sanders; his sister, Dolly Dotson Dibbles; his daughter-in-law, Leigh A. Addison; and a host of relatives and friends whom he loved and adored.

The music Dr. Addison made in concert halls, in classrooms, and in the choir loft of Trinity lives on in every voice he trained and every life he touched. His steady leadership as a principal lives on in the administrators and teachers he developed and the school community he built. He will be deeply missed and remembered with great love and affection by his family, his friends, and the broader community