Patricia Pauline Dodd

In the midst of a global pandemic when families are unable to gather in person to comfort the dying, Pat was surrounded, virtually, by loved ones during an extraordinary 20-hour video call. Four generations-30 members-of her Bodiford and Dana family gathered from across the country, sharing stories, hymns and psalms as Pat transitioned from this life. The marathon vigil was a testament to the number of lives she touched and how deeply she was loved.

The eldest of six children, Pat was born in Springville, AL, on December 11, 1926, to Alma Irene and John Paul Bodiford. Her family's simple, often challenging, circumstances inspired a deep humility and compassion for others that were the cornerstones of her character. In 1940, as the nation prepared for war, Pat's father joined the Marines and moved his family to the naval base in Jacksonville, FL. There, at the age of 16, Pat met and married Bill Mesing, a young merchant marine from Fort Wayne, IN. The marriage didn't last but produced two sons, Randall and Charles, who were the delight and salvation of their young mother's life.

Stunningly beautiful, self-taught and proudly independent, Pat worked as a fashion model to support and educate her boys and youngest sister, Dorothy. Every penny counted. After getting the children off to school, she allowed herself the luxury of taking the bus to work but always walked home "in order to save the nickel." Parsimony was another of her lifelong traits.

Life changed for Pat when she met David Dana, a son of New York socialite Eleanor Naylor Dana and her husband, noted industrialist Charles Anderson Dana. Pat and David married in 1956, moved to Toledo, Ohio, and had three daughters. David adopted Pat's two sons. The family was complete. In 1964, the Danas moved to Mexico City, where Pat mastered a rare and hilarious Spanglish (and its culinary equivalent). As traffic signs remained indecipherable to her, Pat's charm, beauty and earnest if incomprehensible Spanish got her out of many a scrape with Mexican law enforcement and remain the stuff of family legend.

The family returned to Toledo in 1968. Pat and David divorced in 1970. Her profound Christian faith saw her through the break-up of her second marriage. Pat spent the next 20 years learning to play tennis (which became a passion), reading voraciously (history and politics), cultivating lifelong friends and traveling widely. She made an annual pilgrimage to the British capital with The London Ladies, her closest friends. Together they toured museums, saw plays and scoured the markets for good antiques, leaving Pat to negotiate the bargains, which was one of her specialties. In 1990, she married Edwin D. Dodd, the former Chairman and CEO of Owens Illinois. Until his death in 2001, they traveled the world and delighted in hosting large and boisterous family gatherings at their homes in Perrysburg, OH, and the Bahamas or their farm in West Virginia.

A philanthropist in her own right, Pat was the first woman to serve on the Board of Directors of the Boys and Girls Club of Toledo and chaired many of the city's gala fundraisers, including the Sapphire Ball to benefit the Toledo Symphony. She also served on the board of The Randall M. and Nancy M. Dana Foundation. She was a frequent feature in the society pages, always glamorous and beautifully turned out. Wardrobe was her only acknowledged-and utterly unrepented-vice.

Pat is preceded in death by her beloved eldest son, Randall Dana, and her husband Edwin Dodd. She is survived by her daughter-in-law Nancy (Randall) Dana of Columbus, OH; son Charles Dana of Columbus, OH; daughter Deborah (Patrick) Horvath of Edwards, CO; daughter Stephanie (Duane) Stranahan of Bozeman, MT; daughter Amy (Joe Profaci) Dana of Greenwich, CT; 12 grandchildren, six great-grandchildren, her three sisters and a brother.

A private service will be held for the family, followed by interment at Union Cemetery.

In lieu of flowers, the family asks for donations to the Boys and Girls Club of Toledo at .

Arrangements entrusted to SCHOEDINGER NORTHWEST CHAPEL.

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