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Statesville man, lost at sea, remembered fondly
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Published: July 16, 2009
Though they've been split up for five years, Joanne Dodick maintained a special place in her heart for her former husband, Michael Dodick, who has been missing at sea for the past week.
"He was a quiet man," she says with a keen awareness of the verb tense. "He was real proud of his children. He loved the outdoors."
And Michael Dodick, 67, loved to fish.
"There was nothing in this world he loved doing more than fishing, especially in the ocean," Joanne Dodick said. "So in a certain way this is kind of a feel-good story."
The story she is referring to has a Hemingway novella at its core. It is one of a man who was at home on the high seas with lines cast off the bow of the boat. It's one of a man in the autumn years of his life enjoying the fruits of his labor.
But, as Joanne Dodick and her two children have conceded, it is ultimately a story of loss.
Michael Dodick's 28-foot Grady White boat, the Slo and Easy, was found near the North Carolina shoreline not far from Camp Lejeune last Friday afternoon. Its engine was still running; fishing lines still hung from the boat's sides.
And a few fish Michael Dodick apparently caught were still in the Slo and Easy's hold.
But Michael Dodick, who had set sail the day before, was not on board.
The U.S. Coast Guard conducted a search for nearly two days.
"But he was several miles out," Joanne Dodick said with a tone of finality.
"The first few days we were extremely hopeful," she said. "But I think now family is resolved that this is how it's going to be."
And because of that, the family is holding a memorial for Michael Dodick.
Joanne Dodick noted that the state of North Carolina requires at least 30 days before it can declare a person deceased in circumstances such as these.
"But there are no further searches planned and there is no reason to believe things will change," she said. "So we want the memorial service sooner."
Joanne Dodick said that while the police took Michael Dodick's camera and cell phone as part of an investigation, she does not believe any foul play was involved in his disappearance.
"There are a lot of possible assumptions," she said. "But we think he just fell overboard."
Michael Dodick was the owner of Premier Wood Products in downtown Statesville.
He is survived by his son Michael J. Dodick, an officer in the U.S. Navy, and daughter Michelle Renee Dodick of Statesville.
Michael Dodick was engaged to be married to Kathy Hayes of Mocksville.
A memorial Mass celebrating his life will be held at 11 a.m. July 24 at the Holy Family Catholic Church in Clemmons.
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