Ralph Edward Dodge

The Service of Remembrance for Bishop Ralph Edward Dodge, of Inverness, will be held 3:00 PM, Saturday, August 16, 2008, at First United Methodist Church of Inverness with Pastor Kip Younger and Rev. Lauri Gist officiating. Friends who wish may send memorial donations to CCIP-Zimbabwe for Ralph Dodge Memorial Library Fund: Rev. Kennedy Mukwindidza, Executive Director, P.O. Box 427, Quinter, KS 67752. Online condolences may be sent to the family at www.HooperFuneralHome.com
Ralph died peacefully at the age of 101 in Inverness, Florida, on August 8, 2008, surrounded by family and friends. He was born on January 25, 1907, the youngest of four children of Ernest and Lizzie Longshore Dodge of Dickinson County, Iowa. At the time of his death, he was the oldest living bishop of the United Methodist Church.
After high school graduation, Ralph followed his father and older brother into farming. The family attended the Methodist Episcopal Church in Terril, Iowa. It was there that his Pastor suggested God might be calling Ralph to preach. In spite of scoffing at the idea initially, Ralph earnestly wrestled with the possibility for several years. Finally, he decided to pursue this call, trusting that if God willed it, seemingly impassible doors would open.
Ralph put himself through Taylor University, Upland, Indiana, by working for the university greenhouse and farm. While at Taylor, Ralph met Eunice Davis, daughter of Floyd and May Fording Davis of Little Valley, New York. They married in June 1934. After graduation from Taylor, Ralph earned degrees in Sacred Theology at Boston University School of Theology, and was ordained an Elder in the Erie Conference of the Methodist Church. He later earned a Ph.D. in anthropology from the Kennedy School of Missions in Hartford, Conn.
After seminary, Ralph served small churches in Massachusetts and North Dakota but he and Eunice both felt called to foreign missions work. In 1935 they were accepted as candidates for a missionary opening in Angola, then called Portuguese West Africa. The birth of their first child in January 1936 delayed their departure, but just a few months later they were in language school in Lisbon, Portugal. They arrived in Portuguese West Africa December 1936.
The Rev. Ralph E. Dodge was elected Bishop in 1956, the first Methodist Bishop elected by the Africa Central Conference. He was the only American Methodist missionary ever elected Bishop by the Africa Central Conference, as well. Previously Bishops to Africa had been appointed from America. Bishop Dodge served as Bishop in Africa until 1968, leading the African church through the turbulent years from colonial control to African leadership. His Episcopal Area included the colonial territories of Angola, Mozambique, and Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe).
In retirement, Bishop Dodge lived in Springfield, MO, and later at Dowling Park, FL.
After being widowed, he married again in 1983. His second wife, Beth Greene Law, was a native Floridian, a widow with four grown daughters, who shared his interests in gardening and in the church. In recent years, widowed again, Bishop Dodge has lived with his eldest son, Dr. R. Edward Dodge, in Inverness, FL.
Bishop Dodge was preceded in death by his parents, his sisters (Sophia Dodge Langner of Storm Lake, IA, and Elsie Dodge Winslow of Lamar, MO), his brother (Orville Dodge of Terril, IA), his two wives (Eunice Davis Dodge in 1982 and Elizabeth Greene Law Dodge in 1998), one step-daughter (Patsy Law), and many dear nieces, nephews, friends, and colleagues.
He is survived by his four children, Ralph Edward (Carol) Dodge, Jr. of Inverness, FL; Lois Dodge Stewart of Fernandina Beach, FL; Clifford (Sandie) Dodge of South Sioux City, NE; and Peg Dodge Miller of Cottonwood, AZ; three step-daughters, Laura (Ed) Law Baker of Mountain City, GA; Ann (Wendell) Law Prevatt of Jacksonville, FL; Gerry (D.J.) Law Hughes of Summerfield, FL; eight grandchildren: Randall (Colleen) Dodge of Roanoke, IN; Jeffrey (Tammi) Dodge of Indianapolis, IN; Amy Dodge (Paul) Alford of Inverness, FL; Jeannie Stewart (Steve) Eisenhart of Fernandina Beach, FL; Alison Stewart (Gabriel) Brasil of Fernandina Beach, FL; Cathy Dodge (Alan) Peterson of Round Rock, TX; Kim Dodge Simons of Poland, OH; and Shawn (Karyn) Dodge of Pataskala, OH. He is also survived by eighteen great-grandchildren.