Margaret Joann Dodd

Margaret Joann (Joann) Dodd (80) of Bloomington, Indiana died on April 6 in Albuquerque, New Mexico of complications from viral encephalitis. She was born on April 15, 1935 in Owensville, Indiana to Herman and Lora (Wade) Emerson.

She grew up on a small farm in the Wabash River valley. She attended Owensville elementary and high schools, graduating as salutatorian of her high school class in 1953. She was planning to attend nearby Oakland City College and become a teacher, but her cousin from Bloomington convinced her to attend Indiana University, where he arranged a work-study program for her in the School of Education.

At IU she met her future husband, James Robert (Bob) Dodd on a blind date arranged by her roommate and his best friend. They were married on August 19, 1956 in Owensville and were planning to celebrate their 60th wedding anniversary this summer.

She graduated from IU with a BS degree in business education with distinction in 1957 and moved with her husband to Pasadena, CA, where her husband pursued graduate education. She worked as a secretary on the Caltech campus during that time.

They moved to Houston, Texas in 1961 after her husband received his PhD degree. Their elder son Mark Alan was born in Houston in 1963. They moved to Cleveland, Ohio in 1963 where their second son, Paul Emerson was born in 1966. Joann and her husband moved back to Bloomington in 1966, where she resided for the rest of her life.

After working to put her husband through college, she spent the remainder of her life raising her two sons and doing volunteer work. She was active in the First Presbyterian Church where she served as Treasurer and Financial Secretary. She also volunteered extensively in outreach and mission programs. She loved gardening and was a long-time member of the Bloomington Garden Club and was active in working with the Summer Garden Walk. For 31 years she worked with the Red Cross Book Sale (now Hoosier Hills). She and her husband traveled extensively visiting all the continents except Antarctica. In 2014 she and Bob moved to Meadowood Retirement Community where she was involved with various committees and maintaining plants in the greenhouse. She had a warm, outgoing personality and was liked by everyone she met.

She is survived by her husband of Bloomington, Indiana; two sons, Mark Alan (Julie) Dodd and Paul Emerson (Melanie) Dodd; two granddaughters: Gabriela Seal, Anastasia Dodd; and two grandsons, Brian Dodd and Kyle Dodd.

A memorial service will take place at the First Presbyterian Church, 221 E 6th St, Bloomington, Indiana on Saturday, May 14 at 11:00 AM with a reception to follow. Memorial contributions can be sent to First Presbyterian Church, Bloomington or the Hoosier Hills Food Bank. Local arrangements are under the direction of Day & Deremiah-Frye Funeral Home.