Duse' Pearl Gibson

Obituary Duse’ Pearl Dodson Gibson

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Duse' Pearl Gibson, age 93, passed away from age related causes on May 27, 2023. She was a mother of 4, grandmother of 18, great-grandmother of 43, great-great grandmother of 3. She was the first born of William Dodson and Mildred Lacey, Oklahoma City, OK, on November 12, 1929. Her mother enrolled her in Radford School for Girls to learn proper etiquette and social skills. Duse' graduated from Lake Worth High School, Fort Worth, TX and soon thereafter met James A. Frazier, an Army Air Corp Corporal, at a dance at Carswell Air Force Base. They married in 1948, and from that union they had four boys. Duse' and Jim divorced in 1970 and she went to work in student government at Job Corp in Clearfield, UT. She met Lupe Mora Jr. at Job Corp and they were married for seven years. She retired from Job Corp and worked several jobs before moving to Auburn, WA where she worked at the Auburn Golf Course. She met and married John Gibson, a cryogenic engineer, who was the love of her life. Together, they made several moves ending up in Sacramento, CA. In 2015, John passed away from a massive stroke and Duse' moved to Farmington, UT, to be near her sons. Due to age related health issues, Duse' was moved to Chancellor Gardens Assisted Living in Clearfield, UT in 2022.

Duse' was a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. She loved her family and insisted on having family reunions each summer and again at Christmas time. She is survived by her four sons James (Jenalee), Fruit Heights, UT, Lawrence (Cindy), Deweyville, UT, Scott (Gail), Fruit Heights, UT, Anthony (Allison), Kaysville, UT, and two brothers William (Wendy) Dodson and Theodore (Francie) Dodson, both from Libby, MT. She was preceded in death by her parents, grandson, Russell Frazier and great-grandson, Alec Arevalo. Duse' will be remembered by her friends and family as someone who loved the social aspect of life. She had a glitz and glamour fashion sense that was an outward expression of her fun-loving personality. No matter how many hardships she experienced in her life; she always recovered with a positive attitude and a smile.

A special thanks to her nurses and caregivers from Inspiration Home Health and Hospice and the supportive staff at Chancellor Gardens Assisted Living and Memory Care. A celebration of life will be held, June 12, 2023, 7:00 pm at the Chancellor Gardens Assisted Living.

Duse's life sketch follows:

Life sketch of Duse’ Pearl Dodson Gibson

Duse’ was born November 12, 1929, at Wesley Hospital, Oklahoma City,

Oklahoma. She was the first of three children from the marriage of William (Bill) Hand Dodson and Mildred Pearl Lacey. Bill and Mildred met at Hills Business College in Oklahoma City. Bill was working at a Chrysler dealership in Oklahoma City at the time they were married. He procured a management job with General Motors working in Amarillo, Texas. As Bill was progressing up the management ladder, it required moving several times. Duse’, being the only child for 8 years, was Daddy’s princess until her brother Bill entered the family. As Duse’ grew up in the 1930’s she was fascinated with Shirley Temple, a movie star of the period. Everything was Shirley Temple from hair to shoes. In 1940, just prior to WWII, Bill was transferred to El Paso, Texas where he was warehouse foreman. At the age of 11, Mildred enrolled Duse 'into Radford School for Girls. Radford was a upper scale school where girls learned proper etiquette and social skills. Sandra Day O’Conner, first women on the United States Supreme Court, was an upper-class woman to Duse’ at Radford. At the age of 14 Duse’ began High School as a freshman at Austin High School, El Paso, Texas. Bill was transferred to Fort Worth, Texas where she was enrolled into Lake Worth High School. Duse’ graduated from Lake Worth in 1947 and enrolled at Texas Christian University (TCU) with a desire to be a journalist. She had a job at Montgomery Ward in Sales Orders from the Montgomery Ward Catalog.

Duse’ friends encouraged her to go to USO dances at Carswell AFB. At one dance she met James Frazier. Jim was a corporal and tail gunner on the B-29 bomber. Duse’ was very attracted to him. Jim didn’t have a car so he used local bus transportation on their dates. One of their first dates was to see “Great Expectations”. Dating was limited to simple things. At the age of 17, Duse’ got a job modeling clothes for $10/hr. That was a very good wage for that time. Her Dad, resigned from GM due to a misunderstanding about use of employees for personal use. Meanwhile, Jim was TDY flying around the world and although there were a lot of men interested in dating Duse’ she had an infatuation for Jim. Upon his return they married June 1948 somewhat to the chagrin of Bill and Mildred. Duse’s, new husband, loved flying but he didn’t want to make the Air Force a career.

Duse’ and Jim had their first child James Robert Frazier, October 24, 1948, and they moved to a small garage apartment near Lake Worth, TX. In 1949, Jim was discharged from the Air Force and then decided to move to Proctor, Minnesota where they lived with Jim’s Mother, Helen, and relatively new Father-in law Ivar Kjellman. Jim was receiving separation pay and was in flux as to his next move in life. Not long after, Jim and Duse’s marriage became strained and the two separated. Duse’s parent bought her train ticket to Oklahoma City, so baby Jimmy, along with few belongings, and went to live with her parents. Duse’ got a job at a department store in Midwest City. Several years past and Duse’ was doing well and heard that aircraft technicians were being hired at Tinker AFB. In an attempt to salvage the marriage, Duse’ told Jim of the job opportunity at Tinker. Grandma Kjellman encouraged Jim to mend the marriage and so he moved to Oklahoma City to reunite with his family. They bought a house on Murray Drive, with the GI Bill, and he enrolled at the University of Oklahoma into Electrical Engineering which was an up-and-coming field in the cold war era. Soon there were additions to; Lawrence, November 27, 1953, Scott, May 9, 1955, and Anthony, November 8, 1956. Times were lean as they lived on little money which required sacrifices, but in the end, school paid off. In 1957, Jim graduated cum laude from OU and was offered many job opportunities. He decided to accept a job with Honeywell in Minneapolis Minnesota. This job paid about $1000/ month, which was a wonderful increase from what they had been living on. However, in late 1957, Honeywell had cancellations of several Government contracts and the company laid Jim off just before Christmas. The family spent Christmas with Helen and Ivar and after Christmas stayed a couple of weeks longer until Jim found a job at the Cohasett Power Plant near Grand Rapids, Minnesota. The winters in Grand Rapids were cold but the family of six found housing in a renovated Quonset hut that was once part of a radar site. Duse’ became involved in the Catholic Church programs and life seemed to mellow out. Jim didn’t like the power plant job and he accepted a position with Sylvania which required moving to Buffalo, NY. Jimmy was in the sixth grade at that time. Life was pretty fluid, and Jim was transferred to Fort Worth, TX at Carswell AFB working systems on the B-58 Hustler, a new supersonic bomber. The family moved into a home in Benbrook TX. Jim, being a field engineer, required multiple moves. Duse’ saw a newspaper add about a trailer manufacture closing its doors and saw a trailer for sale for $3000. Duse’ reasoned that if the family was going to move a lot maybe a large mobile home would suit the situation. They bought a 60’X10’ mobile home and put it in a remote trailer park near Eagle Mountain Lake outside Fort Worth.

In 1962, Jim and Duse’ went on vacation to Mexico while the boys and their pet dog stayed with Grandpa and Grandma Dodson in Midwest City. In an unfortunate accident, Grandma Mildred, whose footing was poor due to Multiple Sclerosis (MS), stumbled on the dog and broke her hip. She never recovered from surgery and passed away. This was devastating to the family. Jim’s actions with drinking and carousing put a strain on the marriage which prompted a move to Seattle, WA. So, the trailer was pulled to Bonel Trailer Park in Kent, WA, outside Seattle. Jimmy was now in Junior High and the siblings were attending elementary school. Time went on, and as the boys kept growing the family outgrew the trailer and a house was purchased outside Kent a few miles from Kent Meridian High School. Jim still worked at the Boeing facility but it required frequent travel for long periods of time. Duse’ had a hidden desire to learn flying so she enrolled in ground school and was making frequent flights with and instructor at a local airfield. She even had a couple of rides in a WWII trainer, but Jim was vehemently opposed to this training and persuaded Duse’ to discontinue and she reluctantly dropped out. Duse’ loved the Pacific Northwest and had her eye on a piece of property on a hill that had a great view of Mount Rainier and the Cascades. Jim and Duse’ had plans for a house but that never materialized, and the property sat while development came in and surrounded it. Eventually it was obtained by a developer through the court system years later.

In 1966, Jim was transferred to Hill AFB, Ogden UT in the Minuteman missile department with Boeing still as a engineer for Sylvania GT&E. Jim was heavily occupied with his job so Duse’ found a home in Fruit Heights on the east bench of the Wasatch range which was under construction. It had room for the boys, and it overlooked the Great Salt Lake. Jimmy stayed back in Kent with friends and was attending Green River Community College. Jim persuaded Jimmy to come to Utah and attend Weber State College, in Ogden, UT. The family was together once again for a short while however constant arguing and tension strained the marriage and Duse’ filed for divorce in 1969. Duse’ received custody of the boys and was awarded the home. She needed employment to sustain it all. She found a job at Clearfield Job Corp as an advisor in student government. Pay was minimal but she loved her job. Jimmy married in the fall of 1970 and the other boys were attending Davis High School in Kaysville, UT. While at Job Corp she met a coworker, Lupe Mora. He was studying sociology as well as a member of the Utah Army National Guard. After briefly dating, they married, as Duse’ claims, “It was more for convenience than love”. Duse’ was seven years senior to Lupe. He worked nights and she worked days. Duse’ had an interest in moving out of the house in Fruit Heights so they sold the house and invested in a 4-plex in Ogden. In a venture to benefit their assets they sold the 4-plex in Ogden and bought property in Layton to build another 4-plex and live in one of the units. This apparently did not work, and the property was foreclosed on. Duse’ then moved into a mobile home in Layton, and after 14 years with Lupe they mutually agreed to divorce.

In 1982, Duse’ met a man by the name of John Gibson. He was recently divorced, and a friend wanted to set John up on a blind date. John was late for the date, and Duse’ wasn’t sure she was interested in him at the time or if she wanted to become involved with men. She had heard about making some real good money on the North Slope of Alaska as a housekeeper at the oil fields of Prudhoe Bay. So, on a whim, she set out for Alaska accompanied by her brother Ted. Her son, Jimmy, was stationed at Elmendorf AFB, Alaska, and Duse’ stayed with his family for six months or so but things didn’t work out as planned. She packed up and moved to Seattle where her friend Ginger Paluso lived. Torp Paluso, golf pro, ran a Golf course in Auburn, Washington. Duse 'moved in the quarters within the club house and ran the Pro Shop and event scheduling. Meanwhile, John Gibson’s business required that he pass through Seattle occasionally, so they dated off and on. John eventually proposed to Duse’ at a BBQ restaurant and they eventually were married on Maui, HI in 1991. Upon their return from Hawaii, they moved into a penthouse in Vancouver, WA. Subsequent moves took them to Seattle, Tacoma and Gig Harbor. They bought a big boat to cruise the Puget Sound and life seemed to be very comfortable. But John had financial problems with the IRS and he lost his business and the boat. To find employment, they moved to California and lived in a 900 square foot apartment. John and Duse’ lived in the Sacramento, CA area for several years where John worked on cryogenic gas tanks and selling special gases to dealers, but they never did acquire financial stability again.

Duse’ loved animals especially dogs. For her 75th birthday her boys bought her a male, Yorkshire terrier, she named it Tracey. A short time later, John surprised her with a female Yorkie, named Tessie. These dogs were her pride and joy for many years, and she referred to them as “her kids”.

In August of 2015, at the age of 85, John had a massive stroke that resulted in his death. This was a life changing event for Duse’ and her sons thought it was in her best interest to move her to Utah near them. This was a difficult move for her but she found a new place to reside in an apartment in Farmington UT. In 2022, at age 92, Duse's’ health began to decline and her boys moved her to an assisted living facility in Clearfield, UT, where she could be monitored and cared for. On May 27, 2023, at the age of 93, she passed away from natural causes. She claimed the happiest days of her life were with John. He was a gentleman and treated her with love and respect. She loved her family and cherished their visits.

She did not regret her life, but harbored negativity towards Jim and the years she spent with him. Her four sons were her greatest accomplishment in her life. She was proud of each one of them, and offered an expression of love each time she was with them. Duse’ will be remembered by her friend and family as someone who loved the social aspect of life. She had a sense for fashion and the more glitz and glamour the more she loved it. No matter how many hardships Duse’ experienced in her lifetime; she was survivor who would always emerge stronger, wearing a beautiful smile on her face.