Obituary of Larry Dodd

Duke passed away May 29, 2013, after a courageous battle with a very aggressive cancer. He was surrounded by his loving family during his passing. Duke was born in Tacoma, Washington on July 14, 1944 to Frank and Dora Dodd. He made his home in Lacey and attended Lacey Elementary, as well as North Thurston, before graduating from Olympia High School in 1962. Duke had two older brothers, Ray and Frank. All three boys never went by their given names, but rather nicknames. Larry was “Duke,” Ray was “Bunny,” and Frank was “Dubs.” During high school, he met Elaine Pieren-Gosser, and they married May 31, 1963. He attended Tacoma Vocational College, receiving a certificate in welding. Duke went to work at Lee & Davis Welding on Harrison Avenue, and worked there making ornamental iron railing, spiral staircases, and other items that showcased his incredible mechanical talents. During this time, he and his best friend, Jack McGill, campaigned a B-Comp dragster, which they raced all over the West Coast and Canada. He eventually went to work for Olympia Brewing Company during the heyday of the Schmidt family ownership. Duke loved working at the brewery and was known for his pranks on other employees. He was a master at welding the complex bottling and canning line spirals that emptied the cans after sanitation. He was a Little League coach for both of his boys, and a Cub Scout leader. He was an incredible mechanic and eventually built several street rods for both himself and his sons, and helped others build theirs. His first car, a 1938 Ford Tudor Sedan, was originally powered by the stock flathead engine. Not satisfied with the output, he eventually stuffed a small block Chevy and automatic transmission in it for reliability. He put over 150,000 miles on that car, driving it as far east as Louisville, Kentucky for the National meet and all over the western United States. He helped build his oldest son’s 1948 Chevy Pickup, which also travelled to many events with them. Duke was a big fan of drag racing and street rods, and went every year with his sons to Pacific Raceways for the NHRA Pacific Northwest Nationals. He was also the Western Washington State Representative for the National Street Rod Association (NSRA) for the past 25 years. He was also a member of the Church of Living Water. One of his great qualities was that he was always gracious to strangers. Everyone that he touched was a lifelong friend. The outpouring of support for him is testament to his ethics, values and personality. Duke was not only loved and respected by his friends; he was deeply loved by his children’s friends as well. The last car he built was a 1950 Chevrolet Fastback, which was a car he had in high school. He finished the car in June 2012, and was diagnosed with cancer in September 2012. Duke was preceded in death by his father, Frank; mother, Dora; and brother, Frank Jr. “Dubs” Dodd. He is survived by his wife, Elaine Dodd; children, Bret Dodd, Brian Dodd (Lynn), and Stephanie Dodd Holmes (Jason); as well as his brother Raymond “Bun” Dodd and his wife Dianne. Duke also had three grandchildren, Shelby (Bret), Devon Dodd, and Marlee Dodd (Brian). Our thanks go out to the wonderful nurses and staff with Providence Hospice, as well as the staff and doctors at Providence Radiology & Oncology. Shelby: When Papa was recuperating from his stroke, I helped him re-educate himself to read. It was one of my dearest memories of him. We also liked to play against each other in board games, (like checkers) but in the “Dodd” way, also known as cheating. Steph: I spent my childhood in the barn with my horses but always knew where to find Dad whenever I needed him…in the garage working on the ’38. When the ’38 was finished, Duke, Elaine and I spent every summer traveling in the ’38 to NSRA events and many beautiful places along the way. Every road trip was an adventure! We faced random breakdowns, inclement weather, including golf ball size hail in Colorado – picture all of us in our shorts and flip flops trying to hold a tarp over the ’38 while trying not to get pelted by the hail. But even crazy bad weather didn’t make Dad grumpy; we had so much fun waiting out the storms in the teardrop trailer we towed behind the ’38 telling stories and playing cards. Brian: Since the day I was tall enough to see the top of my Dad’s work bench, I remember it always being covered in tools. Many people on their first visit would say “how can he find anything when he needs it?” I would say, “I don’t know; he just does.” His mechanical ability always trumped his cleaning ability, and was always a long-standing joke. When my Mom and Dad moved to their home in east Olympia, I built him the bench of his dreams—over 20 feet long and almost 4 feet deep. If he knew ahead of time that I was coming over, he would clean a spot about the size of a shoe box, and say “Check it out. I’ve been cleaning my bench up.” I spent a lot of time out in the shop in our old house on Boulevard Road with Dad, building my first and second cars together. It wasn’t until then that I realized that we were really more alike than I had previously thought. He began to transform into this really cool guy that I couldn’t get enough of no matter how much time we spent together. We talked about life, learned about cars, his childhood, got advice, and learned all of my colorful little catch phrases to use when you break something, drop something, or maybe can’t find something. He had also, without trying, taught me to do it right the first time or don’t bother doing it at all. I remember the first time that I took my bicycle to him to fix. He was finished in under a minute and I remember saying to him, “Dad, you can fix anything, huh?” He replied, “If we can’t fix it, we’ll figure something out.” My son, Devon, has since told me the same thing: “Dad, you can fix anything, huh?” Bret: The road trips. So many memories. Shelby and Dad playing “Zip” over the CB radio, Dad and I playing “Slug Bug,” KOA campgrounds, the trip to the NSRA Nats in Oklahoma, which ended outside Missoula, Montana, with a blown engine, and the subsequent trip home in the loaner Griswold Family Truckster. Car repairs in the middle of nowhere, freezing your butt off in Yellowstone. Brewpubs, ghost towns, the crazy thunderstorms, people watching, and always having fun. We always had fun. Please leave memories of Duke or condolences for his family in the Guestbook below.