Earl Fearnley Dodds, Jr.

Earl Fearnley Dodds, Jr.

The last of the Big Creek rangers has taken his final ride into the backcountry of paradise. Earl Fearnley Dodds, Jr. left this earthly plane peacefully on January 28, 2025, at the age of 97. During those 97 years he lived a life of love – for nature, for justice, for adventure, for his family, wife, and friends, and for God. Earl always said, “When God created the world, He cared enough to make it beautiful.”

A Memorial Service, with Military Funeral Honors, will be held at Our Savior Lutheran Church at 3:00 p.m. on Tuesday, February 11, 2025. Because Earl so loved the Monday night jam sessions at Broken Horn Brewery, a celebration of life will follow at the North Fork Lodge, 200 Scott Street, McCall, with Broken Horn beer and a jam session. Friends may bring potluck dishes for the celebration.

Earl was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, August 31, 1927 to Earl Sr. and Hilda (Bricker) Dodds. The family moved to Tennessee and later to Muscle Shoals, Alabama where Earl Sr. worked for the Tennessee Valley Authority.

Earl joined the U. S. Marine Corps. as soon as he graduated high school to serve in World War II. The war ended shortly after he joined, so he finished his term of service and then returned stateside for college.

A boy scout leader in Alabama had encouraged Earl to study forestry, so he came west and studied at Utah State University in Logan, UT earning his bachelor’s degree in forestry. During his college years, he and his roommate, Reid Jackson, spent the summers of ‘49 and ‘50 as smokejumpers out of the McCall base.

Earl went on to have a career with the U. S. Forest Service spending 26 years as the ranger of the Big Creek district, now part of the Krassel district. Much of the Big Creek district now lies within the Frank Church River of No Return Wilderness Area. Earl wrote a memoir about his years in the backcountry entitled, “Tales of the Last of the Big Creek Rangers,” available online at the Payette National Forest website and the Idaho Room of the McCall Public Library.

After retirement, Earl had a second career restoring retired mine sites for the Idaho State Department of Public Lands and a secondary retirement job as Long-Term Planner for Brundage Mountain Ski Area.

Earl was a life-long skier, helping to pioneer and choose the site of Brundage Mountain with his friend, Wally Lancaster, who was the McCall District Forest Ranger. He spent many summers cutting brush on Brundage by himself to open up glades for powder skiing, and served on the National Ski Patrol into his 80’s. He was an avid hiker and backpacker bagging many of the high peaks of Idaho and Montana. In his 60’s he took up white-water kayaking and rafting sharing adventures with friends throughout the west. As a back-country ranger he spent many happy hours in the saddle.

As a lover of nature, he worked tirelessly to advocate for the environment. In recent years his passion was to protect the South Fork Salmon River and its wildlife from the reopening of the Stibnite Mine, writing letters to members of congress, the cabinet, and the editor of the Star News and other papers up until a few months ago. He advocated for breaching the four dams on the Lower Salmon River, and ultimately for the Revision or Repeal of the 1872 Mining Law.

One of his greatest joys was the present he received on his 97th birthday – the birth of his first great-grandchild, Penelope James Dodds, and the wonderful Christmas present of being able to meet his great-granddaughter as the family gathered around his bed at Christmas.

Earl was preceded in death by his parents and his younger brother, David.

Earl will be dearly missed by those who survive him: sons, Mike (Julie) of Moses Lake, WA., Tim (Bebe) of Salmon, ID, and Pat (Melissa) of Salmon, ID. sister, Laura (Lollie) Tabbara, of Toronto, ON, Canada, grandchildren, Matt (Kinzie) and great-granddaughter, Penelope of Libby, MT. Katy (Kramer) of Snoqualmie, WA. and Nick of Auburn, CA., niece, Marya (Pat) of Toronto, and nephew, Ray (Elaine) of Cannes, France. Earl has left a big hole in the heart of his wife, Linda Corder, and many friends in the community and beyond.

A special thanks goes out to the staff of St. Luke’s Hospitals and clinics in McCall and Boise, to St. Luke’s Hospice of Boise and McCall, and McCall Home Care. Also, thanks to so many friends in the community and Our Savior Lutheran Church and McCall Community Church who have generously helped us through these last several months.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Valley County Pathways, Idaho Rivers United, Idaho Conservation League, or Our Savior Lutheran Church, or to a charity of your choice in Earl’s name.

Online condolences may be left at www.mccallfunerals.com

Arrangements in care of McCall Funeral Home.