Richard D Dodson

Richard Dodson, 1929-2023, dedicated husband, father and grandfather, died of natural causes, peacefully in his sleep at the age of 93, at home in New York City, on April 19th 2023. A stoic, intelligent man with a wry sense of humor, he quietly pursued deep interests in history, literature, art, music, science fiction and creative writing. He was born to Edith Fairchild and William Burnett Dodson, in Springfield Ohio on May 28th, 1929. He attended Wittenberg University and Miami University in Ohio (class of 1952) where he studied Spanish, French and Russian. Between 1952 and 1956 he served as an officer in the US Navy and was stationed in Guam during the Korean War. He was the navigator on The USS Alcor, where he developed his passion for astronomy and his interest in global relations. He recalled being up at 4AM "watching shooting stars all the way to Gibraltar". He earned his Masters Degree from Columbia University's School of International and Public Affairs (Class of 1958). He married Christine Sifneou on January 1rst, 1958. During their 65 years of marriage they lived in New York, Athens, Greece and Bagdad, Iraq. He pursued a career in the Information Services department of The Rockefeller Foundation, from where he retired in 1985. He is survived by his wife and two children, Michael and Laura Dodson, and by his granddaughter Zoe Vassiliou.