William Dayton Dodge

He had been surrounded by all his children and grandchildren in his last few weeks. Bill is survived by his wife of almost 60 years, Judith Denegar Dodge, and his children, Deborah Nick Bradshaw of Wimberley, Randy Lynne Dodge of Round Rock, Sue Kenny Wright of San Antonio, and daughter-in-law, Lynn Dodge of Corpus Christi. His beloved son, William Dayton Dodge III passed away in February of this year. Bill is survived by eight grandchildren: Ben, Nathan, and Lauren Bradshaw, Jennifer Dodge and Jessica Branko Aric, Dayton and Connor Dodge, and Hailey Cunningham. He is also survived by a brother, Doug Dodge of Germantown, New York.

After graduating from Germantown Central School, Bill served with the Navy on the USS Birmingham in the Pacific from 1943-46. In 1950, he graduated from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute with a degree in electrical engineering. He spent his entire working career with two companies: 19 years with General Electric in New York and at NASA in Houston, and 23 years at Southwest Research Institute in San Antonio. His expertise was quality assurance and reliability. His proudest accomplishments were his role in the design of the lunar module LEM for the Apollo moon landings, and the development and expansion of the QA program at SWRI.

Bill's many interests occupied his time for 16 years after his "retirement". He enjoyed music, boating, and travel, but most of the time he could be found at his ultra-organized workbench. He could fix anything and he was an ingenious and skilled craftsman. His dogs were the first to have carpeted ramps, and even a wire mesh ramp that flipped into the pool.

Because of his love of animals, the family requests that donations in Bill's memory be made to the ASPCA. He would also like us to remind you to stay out of the left lane unless you're passing.

The family would like to invite family and friends to their home for a reception in honor of Bill's life. Please contact the family for information.

Inurnment in Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery.