Former State Sen. Carl Dodge dies at age 91

Longtime Fallon resident and former State Sen. Carl Dodge died Saturday evening in Carson City following a short illness. He was 91 years old.

Dodge was 5 years old when he moved to Fallon with his parents Carlon F. and Buena Reed. He graduated from high school in 1932 and from the University of Nevada in 1936. He graduated from Stanford Law School in 1939, but only practiced law a short while.

Fallon Mayor Ken Tedford recalled Dodge saying he and a classmate, both newly graduated with law degrees from Stanford, headed to a prestigious law firm in San Francisco.

"He got up one morning and just decided he wanted to go home," Tedford said. Dodge returned to Fallon for a short while until he enlisted in the Navy. His military career lasted from 1942 to 1945, when he returned to Fallon permanently.

Information from the Dodge family said he married Bette Cochran of Reno on Aug. 17, 1947, and in his words, "It was the best thing that ever happened to me." The couple had two children, Carlon and Audys, and four grandsons.

Dodge was always involved with his family's businesses, Dodge Construction Inc. and the Dodge Island Ranch, a 1,400 acre ranch south of Fallon. He was part owner in both ventures, along with his father and uncle.

Dodge began his political career with the Churchill County School District Board of Trustees and was appointed to the Fallon City Council in the mid-1950s when another councilman couldn't fulfill his term.

Dodge was first elected to the Nevada State Senate in 1958, beginning a 22-year stretch in the Legislature that is matched by Churchill County legislator Virgil Getto, who spent 24 years as an assemblyman and senator.

"His proudest plan was the education funding plan," Tedford said, adding that Dodge spent four years getting it through the Legislature. Tedford said Dodge researched, collaborated and did a fair amount of politicking before devising a plan to fund public education through state sales taxes.

Getto entered the state Legislature in 1967 and received valued advice from Dodge.

"I'll always remember - I was not an experienced legislator, I wasn't experienced in politics. Carl said, 'You want to remember you're dealing with issues, not people. It's kind of hard not to dislike certain people, just deal with the issues.' It was some of the best advice I received," Getto said.

He also remembers Dodge as being a down to earth legislator.

"Most of the legislators wanted their own offices and secretaries. Carl - all he had was his desk and he was his own secretary," Getto said. "I admired Carl. He was my mentor and was a great man."

Tedford said when he served in the Sergeant at Arms office in the Nevada Senate, Dodge made him feel at home - literally. Dodge and Bette had an apartment in Carson City and kept a spare bedroom for Tedford whenever he needed to stay. He said Bette would make them breakfast and Dodge would "tell me the real stuff."

"He was a real statesman. He knew who his constituents were. He taught me that the people who elected you to office elect someone who thinks like they do. If not, then they would make the same decision you would make if they had all the facts in front of them," Tedford said.

Both Dodge and Getto were instrumental in establishing community colleges in Nevada, and the Western Nevada Community College campus in Fallon.

Getto said community colleges were a new idea to Nevada in the late 1960s and he worked "diligently" to establish them in the Silver State.

"We wouldn't have a community college (in Fallon) without Carl and I," Getto said.

He said Dodge furthered the local community college with a sizable trust after his retirement.

"He was liberal with his donations for community affairs," said Mert Domonoske, former Fallon mayor and councilman. "He was an outstanding legislator, probably one of the best we've seen in years. He was no dummy. He was a great guy."

Following retirement, Dodge still kept tabs on the political and legal happenings in Fallon. Churchill County District Attorney Arthur Mallory said Dodge would periodically stop by his office to "check on things."

"His institutional memory was a great thing to have," Mallory said. He discovered Dodge's brother-in-law, Loring Primeaux, served as district attorney in 1952 and 1954.

Tedford said the retired senator would stop by his office to talk politics, sports and to share stories of his grandsons, to whom he was "totally devoted."

Mallory summed up the senator's many civic works with a simple statement.

"Carl was not only a great citizen of Fallon, but a great citizen of Nevada."

Christy Lattin can be contacted at clattin@lahontanvalleynews.com