Robert Doyel

Robert Doyel's family sadly announces his passing on November 1, 2024. Robert L. Doyel served with the U.S. Navy at Vietnam where he oversaw meals for 10,000 soldiers and as a Florida Circuit Judge from 1995-2010.

A brilliant man, Judge Doyel’s passion for underdogs came from his humble upbringing in Shawnee, Oklahoma as the youngest of Ruby Doyel’s ten children – and the lone college graduate. After living one winter with family in an old chicken coop, Judge Doyel worked through high school and college, graduating from the University of Oklahoma with degrees in Accounting and Law. He was an attorney in Oklahoma before becoming a law school professor at Ole Miss from 1978-1983, where colleagues included former NFL star Robert Khayat, and students included novelist John Grisham.

When he registered his son Gregg for youth baseball in 1978 in Oxford, Mississippi, Judge Doyel learned the Civic League was segregated. Having already committed to coaching, Judge Doyel stayed that summer but then destroyed the league. He recruited white families in 1979 to the Oxford Parks Commission, and the segregated league folded.

Doyel earned a Masters of Law and a Doctorate of Juridical Science degrees from the University of Wisconsin in 1984, and he taught at Mercer’s School of Law before moving to Winter Haven, Florida in 1987. He practiced law in Bartow for seven years before running for Circuit Judge specializing in family law. The title of his book, “The Baby Mama Syndrome,” is based on his experience as a family court judge and it brims with his fearless personality. He advocated for the availability of long-acting reversible contraceptives to reduce unwanted pregnancies.

After he retired as a judge in 2010, he ran for office unsuccessfully as a Democrat in the Republican-dominated Polk County. In his retirement with Chelle, his wife of 37 years, Judge Doyel advised local Democratic Party leaders, served on the board for the Rainbow Ridge LGBTA Caucus of Polk County, and advocated fiercely for rape-kit testing. He received commendations from the Florida Coalition Against Domestic Violence, three Florida Supreme Court chief justices and Governor Jeb Bush for his work as a family and domestic violence court judge.

Judge Doyel is survived by his wife, Chelle, his son, Gregg, his daughter, Kathryn, and one sister, Juanita Frazer. A celebration of his life will be held at the American Legion Post 8 (300 Avenue M NW, Winter Haven, FL 33881) on Saturday, March 15, 2025 at 11:00 a.m.

Memorials may be offered to the Women’s Resource Center of Florida, 165 Avenue A NW, Winter Haven, Florida, 33881; or Lighthouse Ministries, P.O. Box 3112, Lakeland, FL 33802; or The Florida Coalition Against Domestic Violence, 425 Office Plaza Drive, Tallahassee, FL 32301.

Flowers may be sent to the American Legion Post 8 the day before the service. Condolences may be sent to Steele’s Family Funeral Services, 207 Burns Lane, Winter Haven, FL 33884.