Meredith Monogue Dickson Jr. was born to Meredith M. Dickson and Delores (Brown) Dickson in Detroit, Michigan. He was one of five children.

Meredith was also lovingly known as “Monty.” He attended Shaw High school in East Cleveland, Ohio and played center in basketball while there. Monty received a full scholarship to Wesleyan College, where he played forward in Dover, Delaware. He traveled all over the country and played with superstar ball players. In addition, Monty was a very talented artist and drew many outstanding pictures, portraits, and clothing designs for his nephew, Douglas.

Monty accepted Christ at an early age and was baptized at Greater Abyssinia Baptist Church in Cleveland, Ohio, where he began his Christian walk. During his Christian walk he traveled down many roads.

After leaving college, Monty joined the Air Force during the Vietnam War, where he served and received an honorable discharge.

Monty returned to Ohio and later moved to New York. During these years, he engaged in many careers. At a young age Monty and his sister worked for Dr. David Love in a chemistry lab at Case Western Reserve University dissecting egg embryos for testing. He and his sister had a very, very special bond since childhood.

Monty was brilliant and had his own lab at Case Western Reserve University with the assistance of Reverend Hilton Smith. Many years passed and Monty moved to Chillicothe where he met his wife, Teresa. Teresa and Monty stayed married for 13 years, unfortunately they never had children. Even though Monty did not have children, he took joy with his sisters’ children, Toni, Jade, Douglas, and Janice. He enjoyed watching them grow up and was blessed to be in their lives, and they brought each other joy.

Monty moved back to Cleveland to be close to his family where he lived with his sister. Monty started taking classes at Tri-C to further enhance his artistic ability in clothing design. However, soon after his first two semesters Monty developed cancer. His sister continued to take care of her brother.  Monty continued the fight with cancer with the support of his family. Unfortunately, Monty had a tough battle with the ups and downs of cancer. His cousin, Lester, who called him “Peabody,” was always encouraging him to, “Stay faithful and don’t give up.” Monty fought a good fight. He stayed strong and positive until the end.

If you did not know the man and wanted to know about him: Some will tell you he was a quiet man. Some will say he always had fun. Some will tell you, no matter how bad the situation seemed, he always kept a positive attitude. Those that knew him will tell you, he was always caring and kind, he loved watching movies, dancing, and listening to music. He would never try to hurt your feelings, he was truly a brother, uncle, and friend that you could count on. Like all of us, Monty had downfalls and uprisings but despite it all, he continued to fight the good fight to do the best he could and accepted Jesus Christ as his personal Savior. On Sundays, you would catch him watching Greater Abyssinia Baptist Church on TV. His mother would always encourage him to watch TCT and TBN and ask him to read Psalm 91.

Meredith M. Dickson Jr. was preceded in death by his dad, Meredith M. Dickson Sr., and sister, Venus Dickson.

He is survived by mother, Delores Dickson; sister, Sophronia Hairston; brothers, Keith Dickson, and Darren Dickson (Bridgette); several special nieces, nephews, great-nieces, and great-nephews; as well as a host of other siblings, special relatives, and friends; finally, his loving dog, Royce Michelle Hairston-Dickson.