Ralph Patterson Dodds

Ralph Patterson Dodds of Raleigh died on Oct. 7, 2012, due to complications of multiple myeloma. He was born on Oct. 20, 1951 in Wakefield, RI, to J. Douglas and Dorothy Patterson Dodds. Ralph, known to many in his family as “Bud,” grew up in West Kingston, RI and Otego, NY before moving to DeForest, WI where he graduated from high school. He attended Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, and received an engineering degree in 1973, followed by the University of Kentucky, Lexington, where he received a law degree.

Ralph's work experiences were varied and eclectic, from delivering newspapers in the cold and snow of upstate New York at age twelve to serving as a judge in the Raleigh hearing office of the Social Security Administration, most recently as Chief Administrative Law Judge. Along the way he was also a scuba instructor and co-owner of a scuba shop in Latham, NY, and the joint founder and publisher of the bi-weekly Upstate Legal Record in Albany, NY.

It is most of all for his amateur enthusiasms that his family will remember him. By the age of twelve he was taking regular flying lessons and developing a passion that he returned to during his years in Raleigh. Another of his passions was Americana/roots music; he cried the day Johnny Cash died. He always won trivia games, especially when the topic was Western movies or fifties TV shows; he could quote them flawlessly.

He is survived by his wife, Onita, whom he met as his scuba student; his son, Alex of Raleigh; his daughter, Meagan White (Adam) of McKee, KY, and her children, DeForest and Liam; his mother, Dorothy Dodds of Willsboro, NY; a sister, Marsha Dodds (Harry Hutson) of Chapel Hill; and two brothers, Bert Dodds (Danielle Wood) of Stone Ridge, NY, and Richard Dodds (Michelle Homan) of North East, PA. He was preceded in death by his beloved father, Doug Dodds, and the best mother-in-law ever, Suresha Munshi.

Visitation with the family will begin at 1 o'clock on Friday, October 12, 2012, followed by a celebration of Ralph's life at 2 PM, at the Brown- Wynne Funeral Home, 300 Saint Mary's St., Raleigh. Wear your favorite stylish hat, if you please, and bring a fond memory to share.

Memorial donations may be made in Ralph's name to the Food Bank of Central & Eastern North Carolina, 3808 Tarheel Dr., Raleigh, NC 27609 or through their website at www.foodbankcenc.org.

“This too shall pass.”