Joe Driscoll

Joe Driscoll is the father of Dexter Morgan, a minor character in Season One of Dexter. He is presumably the father of Brian Moser, although his exact relationship with their mother, Laura Moser, is never revealed. 
Despite his importance, very little is known about him. Dexter did not know he existed until he became the executor of his will and decided to meet his estranged father at a morgue before he was cremated, and was able to confirm that he was his biological father after sending a DNA sample to Vince Masuka. Dexter then learns that Joe was the one who saved his life by donating AB- blood, a fact that Harry never told him. 
== History ==
=== Background ===
According to Dr. Pittman, Joe was in the U.S. Army and served in the Vietnam War, but this was never proven. Dexter inferred that Joe was an ex-convict based on a tattoo that he had on his arm. Debra assumed that Harry kept his existence secret from them because he was bad. However, searching his house allowed Dexter to remember a card that he made to the anonymous person who donated blood to him. When Dexter found the card in his house, he learned that the person who was able to give him a compatible blood type that was so hard to find was Joe. 
After the graphic murder of Laura Moser at the hands of Santos Jimenez under direct orders from Hector Estrada, Driscoll went into hiding. He trusted Harry Morgan to take care of his son, Dexter, because he was a good, morally upstanding cop. Although he successfully hid himself from Estrada's men, he was killed by his son Brian Moser, who had been traumatized and mentally evaluated after Laura was killed by Jimenez. Brian entered his house as a conning Cable TV repairman, killing him with diabetic insulin. Almost all of these events happened off-screen, with Driscoll never been physically seen until Dexter met his cadaver with Dr. Pittman. 
The doctor was certain that the cause of death was a heart attack, but Dexter believed that he was killed with diabetic insulin. Joe's body was cremated before Dexter could prove that the heart attack was actually murder. During the night, Dexter breaks into the morgue and steals the ashes of his father, managing to escape the security guard thanks to the timely arrival of Rudy Cooper. After an intimate conversation, Dexter scatters his ashes at the entrance of Joe's favorite bowling alley. 
=== Household ===
Dexter received a letter at work from a mailman that formally stated that he would inherit Driscoll's house as his closest kin. Although Dexter assumes it was a mistake, he drives Rita to Dade City. His house contained items that reveal facts about his life. 
* Bowling trophies and a photograph of his bowling team
* Rock and roll music collection with nothing post-80s
* "Thank You" card he drew in a hospital bed as a little boy
* Narcotics Anonymous recovery coins
=== Flashbacks ===
* When Dexter sees his tattoo, he has a flashback memory of riding in a car with a man with the same tattoo. 
* When Dexter sees the "Thank You" card, he has flashbacks of a severe injury that could not be cured without an AB- blood donor. Harry urges Dexter to continue making the card despite lying that the blood donor is not around anymore. With this, Dexter learned that the blood donor - his father - did receive the card after all. 
== Personality ==
Joe Driscoll was remembered as a kind person by the people who knew him. His neighbor Irma Holt told Dexter that he was a nice man who cleaned his gutters. Dr. Pittman did not believe Dexter when he stated that he must've been an ex-convict, repping him to be a good person. Though little may be known about him, Dexter would not be alive without him, and both people that knew him viewed him in a very positive light. 
Category:Live Action Heroes
Category:TV Show Heroes
Category:Deceased
Category:Unseen
Category:Mysterious
Category:Male
Category:Supporters
Category:One-Shot
Category:Victims
Category:Related to Villain
Category:Tragic
Category:Parents
Category:Successful
Category:Philanthropists
Category:Heroes from the Past
Category:Scapegoat