Wessale, Doda Mae

Doda Mae Wessale, 92, formerly of Cedar Rapids and North Liberty, passed away Feb. 8, 2012, at her home in the hills between Sonoita and Patagonia, Ariz. She had been under Home Hospice for less than a month due to colon cancer, and passed away peacefully. Her sons, David and Bill, and Bill's wife, Kris, were providing round-the-clock care and were with her when she passed.

In addition to her sons, she is survived by two grandchildren, Dana Landry (Jason) of Santa Fe, Texas and Ted Wessale (Allyson) of Galveston Texas; and three great-grandchildren, Jaxon Wessale, Reese Landry and Clementine Wessale.

She was preceded in death by her husband, Glen Wessale.

Doda was an only child, born in 1919 to Don and Daisy Smith of Erie, Pa., where her dad was a manager at GE. She graduated from Wilson College in Chambersburg, Pa., and returned to Erie to teach kindergarten. Her real calling was science, so she responded when the U.S. Government was seeking women to refine the handling of aircraft being used in World War II. She moved to Langley, Va., achieved an aeronautical engineering degree, and began working at the NACA wind tunnels.

She was intentionally introduced by a common doctor to Glen Wessale, who had just completed 50 bombing missions in World War II, and they were soon married. They moved to Cedar Rapids, Iowa, where she became a stay-at-home Mom, and then joined Glen at the family business, Waconia Sorghum Co.

After Bill and Dave left home, they moved to a house that was originally a log cabin, in North Liberty, and became involved with Arabian show horses. After she and Glen retired, they relocated to the house where she passed away. She had lived there for 25 years.

She was only 5-foot tall, but she overflowed with a pioneer spirit of strength and tenacity. She was an unflinching, yet compassionate mother and wife, and leaves a legacy of devotion with independence.

Published Feb. 12, 2012 in The Gazette