Roper Funeral Home and Crematory 206 Holly St Jasper, GA 30143 (706) 253-7500 (706) 253-0040 www.roperfuneralhome.com Dennis Dodson was a wonderful man, husband, father, and grandfather. The definition of self-made, he was raised by his adoptive parents, Cecil and Gertrude and his Aunt Rosa in Ponca City, Oklahoma. He put himself through college as a scholarship athlete at the University of Oklahoma where he played basketball and spent his summers going through Marine Corps Officer Candidate School. After graduating OCS and the University of Oklahoma, he was commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant in the Corps and served our country flying A4's and F4's before being honorably discharged as a Captain in 1969. He then entered the corporate world where he had tremendous success in banking and sales before going into telecommunications with his longtime friend and business partner, Bill Bechtel, purchasing Executone Systems of Georgia. But of all of his accomplishments, he would tell you that his family was his greatest. His ultimate highlight, aside from his marriage to his wife of 46 years Pam, was his only hole in one on Father's Day 2001 on the 13th hole at Atlanta Country Club, a round shared with both of his sons, Derek and Doug - that's the kind of man that he was - he wanted his family to share in every success. We are heartbroken today and we miss him terribly, but we take solace in knowing that he is in a better place now and we know we will all be reunited one day. We will miss his wisdom, kindness, patience and laughter. Christmas will never quite be the same without being able to listen to him lose his mind laughing at Clark Griswold's rant about his boss in Christmas Vacation (h/t to Frank Shirley-IYKYK). He would have loved to see his beloved Sooners enter the SEC next season, the Braves drive him nuts in October one more time and his cherished grandson, David, throw his first varsity pitch next Spring. In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to Tunnels to Towers, a charity dedicated to helping America's heroes by providing mortgage-free homes to Gold Star and fallen first responder families with young children and by building specially-adapted smart homes for catastrophically injured veterans and first responders. Visitation will be held Wednesday, June 12, 2024 at 11:00 a.m. at Roper Funeral Home in Jasper, Georgia with a procession to his final resting place at the Georgia National Cemetery in Canton beginning at 12:15 p.m. The military honors ceremony will commence at 2:00 p.m. sharp. Arrangements are entrusted to the Staff of Roper Funeral Home and Crematory.