Melvin Dodds

Melvin Roland Dodds, 83, a resident of LeClaire, Iowa passed away at his home on Thursday, June 26, 2014 surrounded by his beloved family.

A service to celebrate his life will be held at 10:30 A.M. Monday, June 30, 2014 at the McGinnis-Chambers Funeral Chapel in Bettendorf, Iowa.  He will be laid to rest at Salem Lutheran Cemetery in Princeton, Iowa where military honors will be conducted by the LeClaire American Legion Post 347.  Visitation will be from 2:00 P.M. to 6:00 P.M. on Sunday at the funeral home.  In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Camp Courageous or the LeClaire American Legion Post 347.

He was born in Pleasant Valley, Iowa on March 18, 1931, the son of Roland & Edna (Stahl) Dodds and was a graduate of LeClaire High School.

Melvin enlisted in the U.S. Navy in 1951 and served aboard the USS Leyte, an aircraft carrier.  In 1955, he was honorably discharged as a Yeoman 3 ^rd Class.

On May 19, 1951, he was united in marriage to Edna J. Birey in Princeton, Iowa.  She preceded him in death on September 5, 1986.  On January 19, 1996, he was united in marriage to Kathryn A. Stearman in Bradenton, Florida.

Melvin was an accomplished bricklayer and worked for Dean Fry, Jim Shelton, Darrell Neuman, Pete Kroeger, Bill Martin and Al Lawrence, all Quad-City area construction contractors.  He “retired” in 1994, but continued to do small jobs for his many friends.

He & his wife, Kathryn loved to travel in their beautiful Airstream (which Melvin meticulously restored) and had visited all 50 of the United States.  His classic 1958 black Cadillac was his pride & joy.  That car earned many trophies and awards at various car shows over the years.

His memberships included the Bricklayers Allied Craft Local #7 where he was a 50-year member, the LeClaire American Legion Post 347 where he was a member for over 60 continuous years, the Davenport Moose and the Wally Byam Caravan Club.

Those left to honor his memory include his beloved wife, Kathryn; his daughter, Kathy Dodds of Pleasant Valley; his very special sister-in-law, Vi Spinsby of Bettendorf; his father-in-law, Don Stearman of Bettendorf; and many brothers-in-law, sisters-in-law, nieces, nephews, wonderful friends and his loyal canine companion, “Dolly.”

In addition to his first wife, he was preceded in death by his son, Randy in 2002; his sisters, Rozella West and Joyce Little; his brothers-in-law, Marion West, Glenn “Spike” Little and Russell “Spinner” Spinsby; his nephew, Denny West; and his mother-in-law, Linda Stearman.