Lorena B. Dodson

Lorena Browder Dodson entered very peacefully into rest in the early morning hours of July 15, 2012, at the age of 90. She was born on September 15, 1921, to James David and Anna Clark Browder of Springtown, Texas.

She graduated salutatorian from Springtown High School and never forgot the Porcupines’ fight song. She moved to Fort Worth in 1938, and in 1941 Lorena met Charles Clement Dodson at Fort Worth Steel and Machinery, where they both worked. Lorena and Charles enjoyed fishing together and going dancing at the Casino Ballroom. The couple was very active in their Methodist church. They married on February 27, 1943, and together they had two daughters, Paula and Mollie.

Lorena was a pioneer for working women and a hero to her daughters and grandchildren. After Charles’s death in 1955 and knowing that she “didn’t want to sew holes for the rest of my life”, she attended Texas Wesleyan College and earned a double degree in Biology and Chemistry. She became a Medical Technologist and worked at Terrell Laboratories and later at the Harris Hospital Pathology Lab until 1985. In her retirement years, she volunteered for numerous organizations, to include many positions within Code Blue with the Fort Worth Police Department, as a docent for the Longhorn Cattlemen’s Museum, and as a garden volunteer for the Fort Worth Botanic Gardens. Lorena was an avid Texas Rangers fan, never missing the chance to watch or listen to a game.

Our Gran loved to travel, crisscrossing the nation with her family on road trips and on one very memorable cruise to Alaska. Grammy taught all of us to sew and to garden. Toast just isn’t the same if it doesn’t have her homemade apple butter on it. Lorena was an ardent reader and a spectacular dominoes player. More than anything, though, she loved having her family together. In addition to being family matriarch, Lorena was “parent” to many dogs and cats over the years; most notably and lately her very loyal dog Maudie and her spoiled cat, Ceilia.

To the end, Lorena retained her wry sense of humor and her stubborn determination. Heaven help the soul who got in her way – we never could get up the courage to tell her she couldn’t drive anymore. We loved and will miss her mischievous laugh.

Lorena was preceded in death by her parents, her husband Charles, brothers J.D., Eugene, and Lowell, and sisters Frankie, Nora Mae, and Blanche.

She is survived by her daughters Paula Winkler (Kurt) of San Antonio and Mollie Kuchta (Ted) of Mansfield, as well as her grandchildren Tedd Kuchta (Michelle), Elizabeth Kuchta (Kevin Avalos), Tony Kuchta (Amber), Heidi Winkler, and Trevor Winkler, in addition to her sister-in-law Betty Ogletree and numerous nieces and nephews. “GG” will also be dearly missed by her great-granddaughters Victoria and Isabella.

Visitation will be held Thursday at 6- 8pm at Shannon Rose Hill. A private graveside funeral will be held Friday. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations may be directed to Code Blue or to a charity in her name.