Sylvia Dodson
Smoke Rise Member since 1976
Caregiving looks different for many people. For Sylvia Dodson, her experience was as much a love story as was the first time she met her husband, Jim. Jim and Sylvia Dodson were married for 42 years. The last seven years of their marriage she was not only her husband’s wife and best friend, she was also his caregiver. Jim was diagnosed with dementia in 1999.
Jim and Sylvia met when she was a college music teacher. She was just 23 years when he was smitten and it wasn’t long before they were dating and soon married. Throughout her marriage, Sylvia continued to teach music, offering private piano lessons in her home. “It was a childhood dream,” she recalled, “that lasted 47 years!”
Jim and Sylvia moved to Atlanta in 1969 and became members of Smoke Rise in 1976, the same year Dr. Truett Gannon was called as senior pastor.
One of Sylvia’s favorite sermons was preached by Pastor George a few years ago, titled “God of Surprises.” (March 12, 2023) This sermon holds special meaning for her and her life story. When God touches your life, she observed, “doors open easily –it is like certain situations are meant to be.” Reflecting on her life, Sylvia considers meeting Jim and her first job as a music teacher as “God-surprises,” which were meant to be. On another occasion God surprised her with an unexpected introduction. Sylvia was scheduled to have surgery to remove a recurring mass in her neck. The day before her surgery, by happenstance, another doctor who heard her story encouraged her to forego surgery. This doctor then arranged for her to receive treatment at the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota. The treatments were successful and the masses never returned. It was another “God surprise” that impacted her life for good.
Sylvia’s faith and trust in God are an essential part of her character. The same was true for Jim. Remembering Jim’s strong faith, Sylvia recalls, “Dementia does not take everything away. Jim was at the end of his term as deacon and had the offertory prayer one Sunday. Because he had begun “searching” for words, I was a little unsure how he would do. He prayed beautifully and from his heart as if nothing were wrong. He attended the Sunday services at Budd Terrace and one Sunday while watching him, I noticed he was singing hymns just like he would in church.”
Jim was smart and good with numbers. He was a senior bank examiner for FDIC, but he also had a witty sense of humor and loved sharing a good joke. He often had a joke to share with friends and neighbors; but when Jim began to have difficulty articulating his jokes, Sylvia knew something was amiss. They were hopeful at first and visited many doctors. Eventually, Jim was diagnosed with dementia of “some kind” which was unknown until a brain autopsy was done at his death.
As his caregiver, Sylvia’s love for Jim never wavered. Her faith, rooted by her parents’ love for God sustained her; her determination empowered her; and her friendships buoyed her in difficult times. While dementia is a disease that can take so much away, it made Sylvia stronger. Today, Sylvia continues to educate others by sharing her story. She believes that people must better understand the disease, and she wants caregivers to know they are not alone. The Alzheimer Association Library and the Emory Brain Center are two resources she recommends.
Sylvia continues to advocate for brain research through the establishment of the James L. and Sylvia Young Dodson Research Fund for Alzheimer’s at Emory University. When Jim passed in 2006, Sylvia donated his brain for research. When the autopsy was complete, it was confirmed that the dementia he had was Alzheimer’s. It has been 26 years since Jim’s first diagnosis, and still Sylvia continues in her quest to help others fight this disease. “It just seems like the right thing to do,” she said.
– Mitzi Ethridge-Cantrell, Pastoral Care Associate