Carl Dodge

Long-time legislator, civic leader, businessman and rancher, Carl F. Dodge, passed away Saturday evening, July 29, 2006, at Carson-Tahoe hospital. Born in Reno, June 8, 1915, to Carlon F. and Buena Reed Dodge, he came to Fallon with his family when he was five years old. He attended Fallon schools, then went on to the University of Nevada-Reno, where he was a member of the Alpha Tau Omega Fraternity, was elected Student Body president in his senior year, and graduated with a bachelor of arts degree in 1936. He then attended Stanford Law School, graduating fourth in his class with a degree in law (LLB) in 1939. Carl then came back to Fallon as a practicing attorney until he joined the U.S. Navy in 1942 as a lieutenant. After the war he came home to become involved with the family's construction business and later as a major owner and operator of the Dodge Island Ranch - which has remained in the family for 78 years. On Aug. 17, 1947, Carl married Bette Cochran and they made their home in his beloved Lahontan Valley. In 1958, he was elected to the Nevada State Senate for the first of six consecutive terms, and ended his distinguished career in the Legislature in 1980, when he resigned to take a seat on the Nevada Gaming Commission. His life was full of accomplishment, some of which were: part owner of Dodge Construction Company; part owner/operator of Dodge Island Ranch; developer/owner of Valley Plaza Shopping Center in Fallon; corporate director of Circus Circus Enterprises; member/chairman of the Churchill County Board of School Trustees; member Fallon City Council; Chairman Nevada State Personnel Commission; member Special Committee on Taxation & Fiscal Affairs; member and chairman, Nevada Gaming Commission (1980-1984); member Governor's Commission on Fiscal Affairs of state and local governments; and chairman, Nevada Commission on Ethics. Honors and recognitions given him included: honorary doctor of laws degree, University of Nevada-Reno; honorary associate degree, Western Nevada Community College; Business Leaders Hall of Fame; Nevada Senate Hall of Fame; and Distinguished Nevadan Award-University of Nevada-Reno. He was a master mason and a member of Churchill Lodge #26, Free and Accepted Masons of Nevada at Fallon for nearly 70 years. He was preceded in death by his parents; and a sister and brother-in-law, Marlea and Loring Primeaux. Surviving is his loving wife, Bette; and son, Carlon, both of Fallon; and daughter, Audys Dodge Losche of Carson City. Also four grandsons, David Dodge, Andrei Losche and his wife, Jessey, Christian Losche and Chase Losche. Also a brother-in-law, William F. Cochran of Reno. A gathering to celebrate his long and accomplished life will be at 10 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 5, at the Smith Family Funeral Home Chapel, 505 Rio Vista Drive, Fallon. Everyone is invited to attend. A private family burial will follow at the Masonic Memorial Gardens Cemetery in Reno. The family suggests that in his memory, donations might be made to the Western Nevada Community College, 160 Campus Way, Fallon, NV 89406. Smith Family Funeral Home in charge of arrangements. Phone (775) 423-2255.