Deputies establish scholarship fund for fallen officer’s daughter

JACKSON, Tenn. — Deputy Matthew Doty lost his life in an off-duty motorcycle wreck March 13, leaving behind a wife and a teenage daughter — a child his brothers and sisters in blue vowed they’d look after.

Deputy Matthew Doty

“Deputy Doty worked on the second shift, and those officers are real close on second shift,” said Chief Deputy Steve Overton with the Madison County Sheriff’s Office. “They actually made him a promise that if anything every happened to him, they would take care of his daughter.”

Those fellow deputies have established a scholarship fund through the West Tennessee Healthcare Foundation for 13-year-old Taylor Doty and are asking others to contribute as well.

“It also may be an encouragement to her that the people of our community loved her father and are expressing that love and appreciation in the service that he rendered for our community through gifts to help her with her education,” West Tennessee Healthcare Foundation President Frank McMeen said.

Although Deputy Doty is no longer with us, the hope of the sheriff’s office and the West Tennessee Healthcare Foundation is that his daughter’s college education is taken care of.

“As police officers’ second nature, we plan for the worst but hope for the best,” Chief Deputy Overton said. “Hopefully, this will turn out good for Taylor.”

The sheriff’s office will oversee the Taylor Doty fund until she’s college bound. All donations are considered a charitable deduction.

“We’re glad that we are able to do things like this because it’s a wonderful asset to a family that has suffered,” McMeen said. “And we look forward to being able to do more.”