John Stevens "Steve" Dobbs

John Stevens Dobbs, 83, of Danburg, Georgia, died peacefully Wednesday, June 17, at Pruitt Health in Washington. He was born in Cleveland, Ohio, the son of John Raymond Dobbs and Myra Stevens Dobbs. He moved to Texas at the age of thirteen, with his mother and stepfather John Martin Mehrtens, who had been curator of reptiles at the Cleveland Zoo, and who became Steve’s mentor. Steve graduated from Justin F. Kimball High School in Dallas and went to work the next day as a reptile keeper at the Fort Worth Zoo. He soon was recruited by the Atlanta Zoo to stock their new reptile building and to be their curator of reptiles. A few years later, he became director of the Atlanta Zoo and served in that capacity for fifteen years.

In the early 1980s zoos worldwide were being redefined. No longer purely for entertainment, their purposes became preservation and education. During his tenure as director, Steve had published a number of scientific papers that are still cited today. More significantly, he had supervised several successful breeding programs, including endangered Morelet’s crocodiles, whose offspring were used to restore populations in Central America. But, in order for old Atlanta Zoo to make the turn-around and become modern Zoo Atlanta, professional leadership was needed, and Steve was one of a dying breed of self-taught zoo men.

Steve went on to became manager of Stone Mountain Park’s Wildlife Trails, then went off in a totally new direction, training at the North Central Georgia Law Enforcement Academy and becoming a police officer, then an account manager for Wells Fargo Guard Services.

Steve grew up roaming West Texas, collecting snakes, lizards, gila monsters, turtles and tarantulas for shipment to zoos in the U.S. and abroad, in the process developing a lifelong obsession with Texas geography, flora and fauna. He had an encyclopedic knowledge of reptiles, but his favorite animals in the zoo were not snakes but elephants. In his spare time, and after his retirement, Steve kept his nose in a book and kept learning. He loved poetry, history and politics. And, when he wasn’t reading, he was listening to country, big band or classical music, or meticulously planning yet another trip out west.

Steve is survived by his wife, Sherri Bowers, a stepsister Sharon Hamblin of Medina, Ohio, a stepbrother Wayne Mehrtens of Scottsdale, Arizona, and a brother- and sister-in-law, Ken and Lisa Bowers of Danburg.

In accordance with his wishes, Steve’s remains will be cremated, and his ashes scattered in the Chinati Mountains of West Texas.