Shirley A. Dodge, 69, of Dunnellon, joined our Lord May 9, 2013. Born in Waynesburg, Pa., Feb. 10, 1944, in coal mining area of Paladia. She said her young life was like the song “16 Tons”. Her father worked in the coal mine and her mom in the country store. After graduation she moved to Cleveland, Ohio and worked in the insurance field and the Arthur Murray School of Dance for several years. The Vietnam War influenced her first marriage. She became an actual member of the Military Wives Club and her favorite show on TV was Army Wives. Her words “support the Military fear the Govt.” In 1969 Shirley and her husband and another couple purchased and operated two resorts on a beautiful mountain lake in the Ozarks just North of Little Rock for several years until both were sold to customers. It was one of the best and biggest challenges of her life and the knowledge and friendships formed during her time there helped guide her through life. Shirley was always ready to try new things and loved to travel, dancing, music, loved the water and outdoors. Her travels included all of the Great Lakes, Caribbean and finally her best find (Rainbow River, Withlacoochee River and Lake Rousseau). After the resorts, her husband’s job required them to move about every three to four years. Every new place brought a better job from working in marketing at the Marriott headquarters in Bethesda, Md., to working for an oil company in the famous gold rush on the Series Dallas in Dallas, Texas. Her faith and religion were always a force in her life from attending the Presbyterian Church as a toddler with her grandmother. She attended the Methodist church in her teens and remained a Methodist through the rest of her life. She told friends when she was diagnosed with ocular melanoma in 2010 that God does answer prayers. She knew what the prognosis was and prayed that she would not loose sleep over her condition and asked God to give her strength to deal with it and the rest was in his hands. She never lost sleep over her condition. She said she only lost sleep over silly things. She thanked God every night for her friends and their great support.
Shirley (Tweety Bird) loved to travel, fish, dance and hear live music. Her favorite dances were the cha cha cha, salsa, and ballroom. She met several great artists including Charlie Daniels, Ted Nugent, Confederate Railroad, Lonnie Brooks, Biscuit Miller, Shelton Irwin and many others. She said dancing, music, fishing and prayer helped ease the pain. She also said “We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give”.
Shirley is survived by her loving companion, Donald B. Cowan, Inglis, Fla.
Shirley’s life will be celebrated at 3 p.m. Friday, May 17, 2013, at The Bluffs at Rainbow 20486 The Granada with Rev. Eddie Fulford officiating.
