Kern County CA Archives Obituaries.....Dodge, Charles Horace     January 15, 2006
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K T bluewolf@onemain.com January 25, 2006, 1:28 am

The Bakersfield Californian
Dodge, Charles Horace    
 
Charles Horace Dodge 
May 10, 1910 - January 15, 2006 

No services are scheduled at this time and a Celebration of Life will be 
scheduled at a date to be determined for former Sheriff Charles H. Dodge who 
passed into eternity on January 15, 2006. Charlie was born in Brentwood, 
Contra Costa County, CA on May 10, 1910. He came to Kern County in 1923. 
Charlie attended local schools including KCUHS and Bakersfield College. He 
joined the Bakersfield Police Department as a patrolman in 1937 and advanced 
through civil service in 1950 to the rank of Assistant Police Chief, a 
position he held for 16 years during the tenure of the late Chief Horace 
Grayson. During World War II he served as an Intelligence Agent for the U. S. 
Coast Guard. Charlie took a three month leave of absence from the Police 
Department in 1966 to campaign for the office of Kern County Sheriff. He 
successfully defeated the incumbent and took office in January 1967. He was re-
elected by a large margin in 1970, serving a total of eight years as County 
Sheriff. During his tenure he established the County's first helicopter 
patrol; was the first sheriff to operate the Kern Industrial Farm at Lerdo and 
changed it's name to the Lerdo Facility. He was also responsible for 
establishing the first county-wide narcotic task force which included other 
local agencies. With the assistance of the Kern H.S. Adult School, he 
established the first inmate vocational and academic classes. He also 
reestablished the abandoned "Explorer" scout program under the direction of 
the late then Sgt. Marvin Oliver. It was recognized as one of the state's 
finest. Charlie held memberships in numerous law enforcement organizations, 
including the California State Sheriff's Assoc., California Peace Officers' 
Assoc. and the FBI California Chapter of the National Academy Associates (of 
which he was past president). He was a 33rd degree Scottish Rite Mason and was 
an active member and past president of the Kern County Shrine Club. He was 
also an active member and past president of Chapter 21 of the Retired Public 
Employees' Assoc. One of his greatest joys was being a 20 year active lifetime 
member of the Kern County Sheriff's Mounted Posse. After his first wife 
Letha's untimely death from cancer at the age of 46, Charlie married Mary 
Holman, Bakersfield's first woman police officer. Charlie is survived by Mary; 
one daughter, Joan Shannon and her husband, Hollis; grandsons, Chuck and Dan 
Shannon; great- grandchildren, Brock, Carly and Leah Shannon and one great-
great-grandchild Isaiah Ortiz. He will also be missed by his trustworthy trail 
horse "McDougal". Special thanks to the Optimal Hospice nurse, Selena Sherman 
and to the staff at Glenwood Gardens. In lieu of flowers, please make 
donations in Charlie's memory to Optimal Hospice or to the Bakersfield Police 
Memorial Fund or the Kern County Sheriff's Benefit Association. No visitation 
is scheduled. 

Greenlawn Mortuary Funeral Directors 
Legacy.com
 
Published in the Bakersfield Californian on 1/19/2006.  


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