A Very Sad Week - He was my friend

DOTSON — Harold C. Dotson Jr. was born September 2, 1952, lived a good life, and died April 6, 2008. Hal was a son, brother, husband, father, grandfather, outdoorsman and trusted friend. Born on Long Island, NY to a proud Air Force family, Hal grew up in the countryside of France, the dry air of Tucson, AZ, the Black Hills of South Dakota, and the neighborhoods of Riverside, CA. Hal graduated from Riverside's North High School in 1970 (but not before meeting his future wife in 1969) and earned his Associate of Arts degree from Riverside City College in 1972. Always a busy man, Hal married Nancy Reynolds on Dec. 15, 1973, which didn't stop him from receiving his Bachelor of Arts in accounting from Cal Poly Pomona in 1975 (a feat to be capped with a public accountant certification in 1978). Hal and Nancy welcomed their first child, a girl, in 1978, before moving the whole operation to Socorro, NM in 1979. There, while working in the family business, Raychester, Hal produced two strapping sons in 1980 and 1984. Hal divided his time among family, his CPA business, and civic duties. Hal held productive positions on the Socorro City Council, Socorro Consolidated School Board and the New Mexico State Board of Educators. Hal was also very active in Ducks Unlimited from 1980 until his death, serving for a time as state treasurer. In 2002, the family purchased land south of Socorro bordering the Rio Grande. Hal and his sons spent many wonderful hours at "the ranch", taking refuge in the beauty and tranquility of the land. Hal is survived by his parents, Lillian and Harold Dotson Sr.; his wife, Nancy; his daughter, son-in-law and grandson, Kathleen, Mike and Owen Dano; his son and daughter-in-law, Bradley and Eliana Dotson; his son, Andrew Dotson; his sister and brother-in-law, Sheila And Ed Berger; his nieces and nephews: Aaron and Liz Berger, Fred and Kathy Berger, Brenda Hesse and Johannes Pohl, Peter and Lindsay Icenogle, Lauren and Carlos Griego, Greg Icenogle, Emma Crawford, Jessica Crawford, and a wide web of extended family and friends. A Memorial Service will be held on Wednesday, April 9, 2008 at 11:00 a.m. at the Macey Center on the New Mexico Tech campus in Socorro with Rev. John Gregg officiating. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Injured Marine Semper Fi Fund, 825 College Blvd., Suite 102, PMB 609, Oceanside, CA, 92057 (www.semperfifund.org) or Wounded Warrior Project, PO Box 758517, Topeka, KS, 66675-8517 (www.woundedwarriorproject.org). Cremation arrangements are under the care of Steadman-Hall Funeral Home, 309 Garfield, Socorro, NM. 87801