John Dodds

John Dodds, 74 of rural Montezuma passed away on Friday, December 5, 2025 at UnityPoint Grinnell Regional Medical Center. Funeral services will begin at 1:30 pm Friday, December 12, 2025 at the Faith Christian Center in Montezuma. Visitation will be held on Thursday, December 11, beginning at noon with the family present from 5:00 pm to 7:00 pm at the Faith Christian Center. Burial will be held in the Jackson Township Cemetery in Montezuma. Memorials may be directed to the Faith Christian Church building fund. Holland-Coble Funeral Home is in charge of the arrangements.

John Paul Dodds, the son of William and Lois (Jones) Dodds, on January 21, 1951 in Bedford, Indiana. He attended McCalla School in Bloomington, Indiana before graduating from Mitchell High School in 1969. He attended Northwood Institute in West Baden, Indiana and graduated from Olivet Nazarene University in Bourbonnais, Illinois with a degree in Religion in 1974. John married Cynthia Gilman in 1973 from Lansing, Michigan. To this union two children were born, Megan and Trevor. John graduated from Nazarene Theological Seminary in Kansas City, Missouri with a Master of Divinity degree in 1975. While in school, he briefly pastored the Gunn City, Missouri Christian Church. John was the pastor of the Nazarene Church in Paragould, AR and Osceola, AR. He also served as pastor of the First Free Methodist Church in Toledo, IL, Birds, IL, Oklahoma City, OK, and Urbandale, IA. Additionally, he was pastor for the United Methodist Church in Des Moines, Grace United Methodist Church in Brooklyn and Carlisle United Methodist Church in Carlisle, IA.

John was united in marriage to Linda (Carter) Sanders in 2015 gaining a wonderful family through Linda including her son, Loren (Renee) and her daughter, Stacy (Doug). They served in ministry in the Carlisle Methodist Church in Carlisle, Iowa and enjoyed the idyllic life of retirement in the Montezuma countryside. Throughout life, John served on the Oklahoma City Habitat for Humanity Board, the Deaconess Hospital Board of Directors in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma and president of the Brooklyn, Iowa Ruritan Civic Club. Sports have always been a part of John's life. He has served as sports chaplain for the Oklahoma City Calvary BA basketball team and the Oklahoma City 89ers minor league baseball team. In the Des Moines area he served as sports chaplain for the Des Moines Dragons IBA professional team. John was voted the most humorous in his high school class and wherever he went he loved to make people laugh. At one time, he was Sonbeam the gospel clown. As a young boy, John started scrapbooking that he continued throughout his life. He also enjoyed collecting old sports memorabilia and sports cards. Preaching the gospel was thrilling to him especially, if someone came to Christ. Everything that he had in life was due to a loving and benevolent God.

John's legacy will be cherished by his wife, Linda Dodds of Montezuma; his children, Megan Ryan of Summerville, South Carolina, Trevor (Hannah Mayhugh) Dodds of Coralville, Loren (Renee) Sanders of Montezuma and Stacy (Doug) Helm of Montezuma; his grandchildren, Ashley Ryan, Addison Ryan, Alexa Ryan, Adaline Ryan, Morgan (Zachary) Dickenson, Shane (Maggie Fitzpatrick) Helm, Shelby (Jude) Teumer and Dillon (Isabella) Sanders; his great grandchildren, Kristopher Sanders, Theodore Dickenson, Lily Teumer and Lucy Teumer; his brothers, Billy (Marsha) Dodds of Bloomington, IN and Andy Dodds; nieces, Marena (Eber) Regalado and their children, Zechariah and Katie, Melissa (Kit) Emlinger and her son, Eric and Allie along with many other relatives and friends.

He is preceded in death by his parents, William and Lois Dodds.