Carlton Dodson

Appeals of Texas, died on Easter Sunday, April 12, 2020, in Lubbock, Texas.

Carlton Dodson was born on May 14, 1928, in Dickens, Texas, to William and Lura

Dodson. He graduated from Dickens High School in 1946. He then attended Texas

Technological College, from which he graduated in 1951. He received a Bachelor

of Science degree with majors in government, history, and eduction, and was a

member of the Air Force R.O.T.C.

After graduation he operated the family cattle and farming business in Dickens

County, and oversaw his own oil and gas leasing operation. During the Korean

War he served his country in Korea as an officer in the United States Air Force.

After returning from the war, he married Sue North on June 6, 1954, in Spur,

Texas.

In the fall of 1954 he entered Baylor University School of Law. He received his

Juris Doctorate degree in December of 1956 and was licensed to practice law

later that month. Upon graduation from law school he served as an assistant

district attorney in Potter County, Texas. In 1959 he moved to Lubbock, Texas to

join the law firm of Croslin and Pharr, later known as Evans, Pharr, Trout, and

Jones. From 1970-1977, he served as general legal counsel for Texas Tech

University. He was very proud to be part of helping to establish and develop the

Texas Tech University School of Medicine.

In 1977, he was appointed by the Governor to fill a vacancy on the Seventh Court

of Appeals of Texas, in Amarillo, fulfilling a life-long dream of serving as a judge.

He was subsequently elected and then re-elected numerous times until his

retirement from the Court at the end of a term in December of 1998. In March of

1991, his beloved wife, Sue, died in Amarillo, Texas. On May 23, 1992, he married

Jane Brannen in Kingsland, Texas.

After his retirement from the Court, he continued to serve as a visiting judge for

the appellate courts in Texas. He also served as a visiting trial court judge for the

Ninth Administrative Judicial Region of Texas. In 2003, he moved back to

Lubbock, Texas. In August of 2011, his beloved wife Jane died in Lubbock, Texas.

In addition to his military service, family business, and legal career, he made

numerous other significant contributions to his community, state, and country. He

was an active member of numerous professional associations and civic

organizations, including Rotary International. He was also an active church

member, serving in many capacities, including as a Sunday School teacher and

deacon at Southcrest Baptist Church, in Lubbock, for many years.

Carlton Dodson will be most remembered by those who knew him, as a real

people-person. He truly never met a stranger. He loved to tell stories. He

genuinely cared about others, and had a profound and great influence on many,

many people. He was passionate about politics and world affairs. He loved

sports, and especially cheering on his beloved Texas Tech Red Raiders. For years,

he enjoyed keeping statistics at Red Raider football games. And he loved to play

the game of golf like few others. More than anything, he loved his family and

close friends very, very much, was very loved in return, and will be very deeply

missed.

Judge Dodson is survived by his son and daughter-in-law, Will and Denise

Dodson, of Fredericksburg, VA; his daughter and son-in-law, Cathy and David Fry,

of Lubbock, TX; four grandchildren, Erin Hornaday of Lubbock, TX, Rachel Fry of

Seattle, WA, Allison Jones of Nashville, TN, and Andrew Dodson of Richmond, VA;

and three great-grandchildren, Lily Jo Hornaday, Mae Dodson and Luke Dodson.

He is also survived by four step-children, Cindy Hoffman of New Salem, ND,

Richard Morgan of Deadwood, SD, Kirk Morgan of Graham, TX, and Michael

Morgan of Nacogdoches, TX.