Dawn Cheryl Dodson
In Loving Memory
Dawn was born August 30, 1945 in Detroit, Michigan. The daughter of James B. Dodson, Jr. of Kentucky, retired Master Sergeant with the U.S. Air Force, and Iva June Dodson of Arkansas, a master bowler. She is survived by her three siblings, Linda Malzer of Utah, Marsha Jollensten of Washington, and James Dodson III of New Mexico. Dawn died on April 29, 2026 in Vallejo, California, surrounded by her siblings.
She was Mensa brilliant, a jigsaw puzzle master, a loving and giving person, a friend to many, and deeply loved by her siblings. Dawn had a quick dry wit, loved a good pun, her kitties, was a sci-fi fan, and a collector of colorful t-shirts. She served in the Army as a Private First Class with the 128th Combat Support Group in Germany, received a National Defense Service Medal, and was honorably discharged. After the army she began her career as a brilliant Business System Analyst for the Orient Overseas Container Line (OOCL) Transportation company in San Francisco, California. On her retirement after 33 years, Dawn began to explore all the vast interests she had, learned new hobbies, went on adventures, volunteered at an animal rescue facility, and supported the Florence Douglas Senior Center in Vallejo, CA where she was loved by all. Dawn will be deeply missed, and will forever live in our hearts.