- Date Of Birth: February 24, 1937
- Date Of Death: December 2, 2015
- State: Michigan
Leslie E. Dodson, was born February 24, 1937, to the late Elmer and Jessie (Crowell) Dodson. He passed away on Wednesday, December 2, 2015. He lived in Highland Park, MI until WWII when Les’ family moved to Spirit Lake, ID, where his father was in the Navy. After the war the family moved to Redford, MI. Les graduated from Redford High School in 1954, Kalamazoo College in 1958, and also attended Denison University and the University of Michigan. Les became interested in tennis at an early age and excelled on the school team in both high school and college. Upon graduation from “K” he moved to California to get more tennis opportunities.
He was soon drafted into the army and was stationed at The Presidio in San Francisco. There he re-met a high school acquaintance, Joann Hodgman, and they were married a few months later. They lived for 2 years in San Francisco and then moved back to Michigan, where Les spent the rest of his life. He received a Master’s Degree from WMU and taught Psychology and coached tennis for 7 years in Flint, MI.
The family moved back to Kalamazoo when Les got his “dream job” of running the tennis program at the local YMCA, which he did for 15 years. Later he built an ultra-light airplane and taught others to fly as well. In his “retirement” he continued to play tennis all over the world and especially enjoyed the several years spent on a German tennis team. Les won many U.S. and international tournaments through age 70. Les is survived by his wife of 54 years, Joann; his sons, Chuck Dodson of Bellingham, WA, and Jeff (Sharon) Dodson of Portland, OR; and granddaughters, Anna and Natalie. Les is also survived by his siblings: Arleigh (Marion) Dodson, Jim Dodson, Ralph “Obie” (Becky) Dodson, Connie Dodson, and numerous nieces and nephews.
