Steven Goode "Steve" Dodge

1949 - 2022

DODGE, Steven "Steve" Goode, left this life on May 19, 2022 a few weeks before his 73rd birthday. Steve fought a brave battle against bladder cancer, but ultimately could not win the war against the numerous complications that resulted from the surgery. Steve is survived by his loving wife of nine years, Susan Frazier Dodge; his ex-wife and mother of his children, Rebecca Dodge; his children, Steven Douglas (Doug) Dodge, Molly Edmunds Dodge and James (Jim) Richardson Dodge; his grandson, Logan Dodge; his sister, Debra Dodge; his brother, Randy Dodge; many cousins; and his two French bulldogs, Shaquille Havoc Dodge (aka Shaq) and their rescue, Maya.

Steve grew up in small town America and was born to his father, Edward and mother, Douglas Dodge on June 3, 1949 in Staunton, Va. Steve attended both Staunton Military Academy and Robert E. Lee High School (renamed Staunton High School in 2019). Steve found his passion for basketball early in life and never looked back. In high school, he was the leading scorer in the Virginia Valley Conference averaging 18+ points /game and helped lead the Fighting Leeman to a state championship in 1967. Steve has been nominated to be posthumously inducted into the Virginia Interscholastic Association Hall of Fame later this year.

Steve was granted full scholarship to numerous universities but ultimately decided on The College of William & Mary, graduating in 1973 with a degree in Political Science. While at William & Mary, he continued his basketball passion, led The Tribe as captain and was nominated as a member of the All Tournament Team in his senior season. After graduating, Steve pursued his love of basketball in Europe as part of the International Basketball Association, where he played professionally for three years in Belgium and France, becoming fluent in French and traveling to many European countries. Steve was then asked to join ODU in Norfolk, Va., as an academic advisor for the basketball team while earning his master's degree in Business. Steve recruited many star athletes for ODU who went on to the NBA and helped put ODU on the map moving them from a Division 2 to Division 1 contender. Steve then combined his love for sports and business, accepting a position at Converse, where he worked for over 20 years before leaving Converse as the VP of Sales. During his tenure, he helped build the Converse brand and worked with professional teams such as The Redskins, The Colts, The Baltimore Orioles and basketball stars such as "Dr. J," Magic Johnson and Larry Bird, convincing all that Converse was the best shoe on the market. Steve never gave up his enthusiasm for basketball and sports in general and passed that legacy on to his children, Doug, Molly, Jim and grandson, Logan.

Steve and his wife, Susan had recently moved to the Yucatan in Mexico, where he spent the last two years avoiding Covid, soaking in the sun, traveling and trying to improve his subpar golf game. One of Steve's greatest gifts was friendship. He touched so many lives in his role as husband, father, friend, mentor, coach and all around great guy. We were all lucky to know and love him.

We sincerely thank everyone that has reached out since Steve's passing to share their thousands of stories, kind words, and who donationed to the GoFundMe. Funeral arrangements will be private, but a Celebration of Life will be finalized at a later date. For additional information or sympathies, please feel free to reach out to his wife Susan at dodgefsusan@gmail.com.