Charles Dale Dotson

Charles Dale Dotson Sr. was born on January 31, 1935 to Carl Wray Dotson and Ollie Mae (Cook) Dotson, in Webb Oklahoma, and died on February 7th, 2020 at St. Mary's hospital in Enid, Oklahoma. Services will be held at the First Baptist Church in Laverne, OK, Saturday February 22, 2020 at 2:00 PM.

He was preceded in death by: both parents; sisters Barbara Joan Dotson, Darla Smoyer, Alice James and her husband, Louis T. "Buddy" James; brother Wray Dotson; son James Andrew Dotson; and most recently by his beloved wife of 59 years, his "Sweet Darlin," Linda Kay Dotson.

He is survived by siblings Sherry Barby and Robert Dotson and their families; children Charles Dale Dotson Jr. of Denver, CO; Darla Kay Billings of Lakewood, CO; John Robert Dotson of Cary, IL; Elizabeth Ann Hill of May, OK; their families; many grandchildren; and by countless numbers of others that have been impacted in one way or another by his selfless service.

After graduating from Boise City High School in 1953, he worked as a ranch hand for his brother-in-law, Buddy James and then for Frank James until January of 1955, when his father purchased the C&C Service Station in Boise City, Oklahoma and Charles worked with him. They sold the service station 13 months later, then he drove a dump-truck for 7 months until his enlistment with the US Marine Corps began in October of 1956.  That's where he met Linda, and the two were married in October of 1959, contemporaneous with his enlistment expiration. After working as a service station manager in Hugo, CO, as an engineering aide for the US Department of Soil Conservation, and as a Security Officer at a missile silo in South Florida, he was accepted to the Colorado State Patrol Academy on February 1, 1963, where he served as Patrolman and Patrol Sergeant for 15 years.

Thoroughly involved in state government, both politically and administratively, his 30-year career that started as a trooper developed into administration of government functions including the investigation, enforcement or administration of programs in areas as diverse as retail liquor sales, car dealerships, vehicle exhaust testing stations, and even odometer fraud. After his retirement from Colorado public service in 1993 and moving back to his roots in Oklahoma, Charles soon added "His Honor" to his list of titles, becoming Mayor of May, Oklahoma, where he helped lead and organize the development of a number of necessary services for May including a Fire Protection District and Sanitary Water supply for the town.  He served the Town of May for 24 years, until his retirement in February 2018 where he passed the honor to his daughter Elizabeth. 

Few individuals have known that Charles felt that his role in all of it was that he was to serve his fellow man in all that he did. He exemplified the truest sense of service in Civil Servant.