Mary Lou Dodge

Arlington – Mary Louella Dodge, age 91, passed away peacefully on June 30, 2023, at VHC Health hospital in Arlington, Virginia. She was born November 5, 1931, in Washington, D.C. to the late Robert Paxton Dodge and Lola Edmondson Dodge.

Mary Lou graduated from Washington-Lee High School in Arlington, and from Mary Washington College with a bachelor’s degree in chemistry. After college, she first worked for the Virginia Department of Agriculture, then spent most of her career as Lab Manager in the quality assurance chemistry lab at A.H. Robins in Richmond, responsible for quality control on products including Robitussin cough syrup and ChapStick lip balm. She enjoyed skiing and served on the ski patrol at a nearby ski resort. She would drive from Richmond to Arlington on weekends (listening to the truckers on her CB radio) to visit Lola and others. After Mary Lou retired in 1990, she relocated back to Arlington, to the same house her parents had built in the 1930s.

Mary Lou was an avid gardener, growing many pretty flowers and unusual plants in her home garden, earning the Master Gardener designation, and visiting gardens all over, including trips sponsored by the Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden. She ventured as far as Australia and New Zealand, toured the gardens of England, and loved attending family reunions held at different places around the U.S. every two years.

She hosted numerous family holiday and other gatherings at her home. Cheerful, independent, and often wearing purple, her favorite color, Mary Lou was well known in her Lyon Park neighborhood and counted many kind neighbors among her closest friends. An active member of the Philanthropic Educational Organization (P.E.O.) sisterhood, she dearly enjoyed the company and activities of the women in her local chapter, serving as treasurer and later as chaplain.

Survivors include sister Martha Ann Crowther, sister-in-law Priscilla Young Dodge, cousin Jane R. Churchill, nieces Susan Katherine Alden, Priscilla Helen Dodge, Merrie Beth Dodge, nephews William Bannard Dodge, Jr., Stephen Ropes Dodge, David Frederick Dodge, Michael Lawrence Dodge, Paul Edmondson Dodge, and many other loving family members. Mary Lou was preceded in death by her parents and her brothers, William Bannard Dodge and John Edmondson Dodge.

A celebration of life for Mary Lou will be held Tuesday, July 11, 2023 from 10:00 AM to 12:00 PM at Murphy Funeral Homes, 4510 Wilson Boulevard, Arlington, VA 22203, followed by a reception from 12:00 PM to 2:00 PM.

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.murphy-funeralhomes.com.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden, (https://www.lewisginter.org/support/give/) or to P.E.O. (https://donations.peointernational.org/) P.E.O. Scholar Awards (PSA) recommended, and please credit Chapter N in VA.