Richard "Dick" Dodderidge

Richard “Dick” William Dodderidge, 92, died peacefully on Tuesday, April 23 in Lenexa, Kansas. His friends and family remember him as an extremely gracious person and consummate professional.

Dick was born on October 3, 1926 in Council Grove, Kansas to Russell and Rachel Dodderidge. He served in the Army during World War II and attended West Point in New York. He graduated from Kansas State University in 1947 with a degree in journalism. While in college, he was a member of Sigma Nu Fraternity, and was the business manager of the college yearbook and sports editor of the college newspaper.

After college, Dick served as sports director of a radio station in Wichita, Kansas and then joined Bruce B. Brewer and Co. Advertising Agency in Kansas City, Missouri. Five years later he married Ann Thornberry in 1952. They lived in Mission Woods, Kansas for more than 30 years and spent the next 22 years in Venice, Florida before moving back to the Kansas City area in 2015. Dick was devoted to Ann throughout their wonderful 65 years of marriage and enjoyed making friends everywhere they went.

He was with Brewer and its successor company, Young & Rubicam Advertising, for 35 years, serving the last 10 years as president. One of Brewer’s most successful ad campaigns was for a Des Moines, Iowa insurance company, Life Insurance at Jack Benny Prices! Dodderidge and Benny worked closely together and became close friends up until Benny’s death in 1974.

Dick played an instrumental role in Brewer merging in 1974 with Young & Rubicam of New York, one of the world’s five largest ad agencies. Brewer’s annual sales nearly tripled from $11 million in 1972 to $31 million in 1978. In 1979, Brewer was ranked third in the nation among ad agencies with major agricultural clients like Pfizer Seed and Massey Ferguson. Brewer’s clients included Beech Aircraft Corp., King Radio and Hallmark’s Crown Center.

He was a national director of the American Advertising Federation of Washington, D.C., and a regional governor of the American Association of Advertising Agencies in New York City.

American Multi-Cinema (AMC) hired Dick as its senior vice president for marketing in 1985. He helped AMC average 15 percent more customers per picture through various innovative innovations. He retired from AMC in 1991 and moved to Venice, Florida in 1993.

Former Kansas governor John Carlin appointed Dodderidge to the Kansas Board of Regents in 1986. As board chairman in 1988-89, Dodderidge championed public support for the Margin of Excellence, a legislative funding package to aid public higher education in Kansas. He was lauded for his Regent leadership with an editorial in the Manhattan Mercury.

Dick was as the interim president of the Kansas City Art Institute from 1983-84 and the Atlanta College of Art in 1985. He helped turn the KCAI from an operational deficit to a budget surplus and a boost in enrollment. He served on the Mission Woods City Council and spent over 20 years as a trustee for the Kansas State University Foundation. He was awarded the KSU Alumni Medallion Award for lifetime humanitarian service in 2003. He was recognized by Marquis Who’s Who in America and Who’s Who in the World.

A devoted member of the Sigma Nu, Dick held various positions on the Sigma Nu Educational Foundation Board of Directors including director, vice chairman and chairman. He received the Foundation’s highest honor in 2014 when he was named a member of the Richard R. Fletcher Honor Society for his gifts of time, talent and treasure.

He was an active member of Rotary International for 50 years. He and Ann traveled the world extensively for Rotary and they both received Paul Harris Fellows. He was president of the Venice-Nokomis Club and was district chairman of the Rotary International Friendship Exchange. He served as district governor for southwest Florida in 1999-2000. Dodderidge was the advisor and contributor to the formation of the Neva Rotary Club in St. Petersburg, the third Rotary Club in Russia.

Dick served as the board director for the Venice Symphony and the Sarasota County USA Decathlon Team. Dick also was active with the Venice City Council Advisory Committee, the Jazz Club of Sarasota, and the Sarasota Arts Council. He wrote numerous travel articles for Florida newspapers and authored a book about his career in advertising and the motion picture industry titled, “Confessions of a Small Time Name Dropper.”

He was a member of the Kansas City Club, the University Club, Homestead Country Club, the Carriage Club, the Venice Yacht Club, St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Kansas City, Missouri and St. Mark’s Episcopal Church in Venice. His hobbies included travel, sports, reading, movies and photography.

Dick is survived by his three sons, Richard William II (Vicki) of Kansas City, Missouri; John Russell (Tammy) of Lenexa; and Daniel James (Nancy) of Chappaqua, New York; four grandchildren, Timothy and Andrew of Lenexa, and Bradley and Brooke of Chappaqua. He is preceded in death by his wife, Ann, brother, David Dodderidge, and sister, Beverly Dodderidge.

A visitation is scheduled for Friday, May 3, from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. at the Johnson County Funeral Chapel at 11200 Metcalf Ave. in Overland Park, Kansas. The funeral will be held on Saturday, May 4 at 2:00 p.m. at St. Thomas the Apostle Episcopal Church at 12251 Antioch Rd. in Overland Park, with a reception to follow at St. Thomas. All are welcome to attend and celebrate Dick's life