Died: August 23, 2009
Stanley Ivan Dodson (July 26, 1944 – August 23, 2009) was born in Lincoln, IL and spent his early childhood in Southern Illinois living in Mt. Pulaski, Anna, and Albion. In 1954 when he was ten, his father moved the family to western Colorado to prospect for uranium. The family loved the area so much, they elected to settle in Grand Junction, CO. Stan graduated from Grand Junction High School in 1962 and graduated from Yale with a B.A. in Science in 1966. While at Yale, he met Virginia E. Joseph, whom he married on January 16, 1967. Following their wedding, Stan and Virginia moved to Washington State, where they both enrolled in a doctoral program at the University of Washington. Stan received his doctorate in Zoology in 1970 from the University of Washington, following which Stan joined the University of Wisconsin, where he became a professor of zoology in 1970 and served in that capacity until his retirement in 2008. He is remembered as a true naturalist who loved to share his enthusiasm and knowledge with others, and who was passionate about biking, tai chi, running, bird watching, and gardening. Stan died as a consequence of injuries suffered in a biking accident that occurred when he lost control of his bike and fell while biking on Rim Rock Drive in the Colorado National Monument. He is survived by his wife Virginia, his daughter Sarah Emily Dodson Wilson, his son-in-law Ian David Sobaczewski, and two grandchildren, Kate Lorraine Wilson and Henry August Wilson.