July 2018 - Parks & Recreation - 71

The Passing of Two Trailblazers
in Parks and Recreation

llen Evrett Doby, Jr., a former member of the NRPA Board of Trustees (1993-1998) and a fearless civil rights leader who dedicated his
life to community service, passed away, June 2 at the age of 83.
Among his many achievements, Doby became the first African-American
department head in Orange County when he was named director of parks
and recreation for the city of Santa Ana in 1980, and went on to become the
executive director of the Community Service Agency for Santa Ana.
Doby was born in Hollandale,
Mississippi, in 1934 and 12 years
later, moved with his family to Los
Angeles near the historic Watts
Towers. In 1959, he graduated
from Compton College, and then
obtained a Bachelor of Science degree from California State University, Northridge.
During the early 1960s, Doby embarked on what would be a 19-year
tenure with the Los Angeles County
Parks and Recreation Department,
where he would become the district
director. He retired from LA County in 1975 and became the director
of parks and recreation for the city
of Compton. In addition to working full time in parks and recreation,
Doby also volunteered as a reserve
police officer, starting in 1977 and
retiring in 2000 as a Lieutenant.
Doby's responsibilities as the
executive director of Santa Ana's
Community Service Agency included parks and the Santa Ana
Zoo, the senior citizen center, the
Bowers Museum and the cable TV
station, where he hosted his own
show. But, even with his wide-ranging duties and involvement in numerous professional and service
organizations, Doby's passion was
around mentoring and helping inner city youth. In each of his park
locations, he implemented his sig-

nature project, the Catalina Island
camping trip for inner city kids.
After a stellar 40-year career, which
saw him involved in numerous organizatons, such as the National Recreation and Park Ethnic Minority
Society, of which he a charter member and president; the Parks and
Recreation Committees of Newport
Beach and Laguna Beach, California;
National Forum of Black Public Administrators; NRPA's Board of Trustees; and collecting countless awards,
including the NRPA Professional
of the Year Award, Doby retired in
1996. In 2016, he completed his autobiography, titled The Parks & Recreation Rebel of the Inner City, in which
he recorded the events of his very remarkable life - a journey that began
during the height of the Civil Rights
Movement and saw him adroitly navigate to highest level of his profession.

Shinshiro Ebashi
Professor Shinshiro Ebashi, one
of the founders of the National
Recreation Association of Japan
(NRAJ), passed away on April 8 at
the age of 97. A memorial service
was held for him in Tokyo on June
23. Ebashi was truly a pioneer in
the field of recreation and leisure
and his accomplishments are widely
lauded in Japan. While serving on
the leadership of the NRAJ, Ebashi

Doby

Ebashi

also founded the Japan Korfball Association, and he is recognized as
the first president of the National
Institute of Sports Science located
in the city of Kanoya, Japan.
Barry S. Tindall, former NRPA
director of public policy and international liaison who coordinated
NRPA international activities for
many years, shared that Ebashi's
original interest and study of U.S.
recreation science and policy started
with his graduate work at Columbia
University soon after World War II,
with an analysis of the state of New
Jersey's educational requirement for
fifth graders to learn about the environment and conservation.
Ebashi was instrumental in establishing a Protocol agreement
between NRAJ and NRPA and
fostering the ongoing exchange
of professionals between the two
countries for more than 20 years.
" Ebashi was truly a giant in the
parks and recreation field, " says
Robert J. Hall, longtime director
of parks and recreation in St. Louis County, Missouri, former board
member of NRPA and president of
the American Academy for Parks
and Recreation Administration.
" He was committed to 'lifelong
recreation in Japan,' and was also a
world-class walker, having walked
on almost every continent. "

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