Wayne Thomas Dodge

AN OBITUARY FOR WAYNE THOMAS DODGE (ES)
Wayne Thomas Dodge
August 24, 1950 – September 5, 2021
Wayne Dodge died from complications of a severe spinal cord injury after five months of work to create a life after this disaster, connecting with his loved ones and caregivers with consistent kindness, respect and grace, always teaching and learning, living in the mystery of what life still asked of him.
Wayne was a family practice physician with Group Health/Kaiser Permanente Washington from 1981-2014, where he led the GHC response to the AIDS pandemic. Since retirement he continued to work as a part-time contracted physician and as a volunteer for End of Life Washington.
Brilliant and enormously curious, with a voracious appetite for learning, Wayne had an open and listening heart, consistently showing up and carefully cultivating friendships that endured over years. For 40 years, Wayne taught practices of mindful living and self-compassion at The Haven, a retreat center in Canada, bringing his remarkable, calm, caring, patient, thorough, generous self to this coaching role. Wayne drew deeply on these practices himself, demonstrating courage and stamina as he negotiated all the challenges of his injury.
Wayne was a loving partner and husband to Larry Kreisman for over 39 years. They found a “heart home” with each other, embracing their connection and common love of travel, art, and the beauty of the Arts and Crafts period. They were each other’s ground, center, home, mirror, and support, joining their different personalities and perspectives to make a whole life, blending their respective worlds of richness, variety, and mystery.
Wayne was a gardener with a passion for Japanese maples, creating a backyard oasis of color and leaf. Music brought him joy. He had a huge repertoire of tunes and could burst into song at the drop of a hat to enrich a gathering or conversation. He was an avid reader across multiple genres with home library stacks that could become a branch of the Seattle Public Library.
Family was the axis of Wayne’s life. He nurtured a deep and abiding relationship with his daughter, Robin Grote, sharing a sense of humor and delight in deep and winding conversations. He also cherished his relationship with Robin’s husband, David and his two granddaughters, Cora and Marion.
Wayne was surrounded by family members who also loved him deeply – sister Marie Eaton, her wife, Mary Ellen O’Keefe and their children Edward (partner Liz Holguin) and Malaika Eaton (husband Michael Eaton), brother Bruce Dodge and his children Tova Tangeman (husband Josh Tangeman) and Nathan Dodge, and a multitude of nieces and nephews (Macail, Liam, Kaia, Carver, Esme, Olivia, Christine, Scarlett, Autumn), and Larry’s sister and brother-in-law, Paula and Uri Bernstein and niece Dani Bernstein and wife Rachel. His beautiful baritone voice, delightful conversation and loving care will be deeply missed by all of them.
11/3/21, 1:00 PM Wayne Dodge | Obituary | The Morehead News
Wayne brought all of himself to every interaction or task, inspiring all he touched. In the words of one of the people who holds him dear for the work he did with Wayne at The Haven, “I always felt held by him.” Now he has completed his work, but the ripples of his compassion, caring, and wisdom will continue to spread in wide circles through all who remember him with love.
Donations to remember and honor Wayne can be given to End of Life Washington (https://support.endoflifewa.org/a/portal), King-FM (https://www.king.org/donate/)
the Seattle Public Library Foundation (https://supportspl.org/ways-to-give/), Historic Seattle (https://historicseattle.org/give/), the Conant Dodge Scholarship at the Western Washington University Foundation (https://foundation.wwu.edu/how-make-gift) or The Haven (https://haven.ca/giving/) to help them continue the important work that inspired him.
Or you can plant a Japanese maple!
The family encourages your memories and comments. Please visit and share with others who knew Wayne, learned and grew with him, and were inspired by his curiosity, insight, and goodwill.
https://bit.ly/waynedodge
Wayne chose Recompose over conventional burial or cremation. A full obituary can be found at https://recompose.life/obituary/wayne-thomas-dodge/
There will be a celebration of life in mid-October. For details, email kreisman31@gmail.com