Obituary of Dodie Ulmer

Dodie Williams Ulmer, 74, died gracefully and at peace at home with her family at her side on March, 25, 2010. In accordance with her explicit wishes, her body will be cremated and there will be no memorial service. Born in Jena, Louisiana on October 13, 1935, she graduated from Baton Rouge High School in 1953, received her degree in Journalism from LSU in 1957, and became a staff writer for the Baton Rouge Advocate newspaper. She married in 1956 and began her family in Baton Rouge, eventually moving to Shreveport to raise her three children. In 1972, she opened the doors to Dodie?s Frame Shop, a custom picture framing shop she successfully ran until 1985, when she sold the business and decided to move to Sanibel Island, Florida. After five years in paradise, Dodie followed her creative yen and returned to Shreveport in 1990 to open The Monogram Tree. A determined business woman, she quickly cultivated a faithful customer base, many of whom drove in from out-of-town for her expertise. For nearly twenty years, Dodie satisfied the Shreveport area?s demand for her well-known custom work as well as her impromptu counsel and friendship. Dodie was absolutely her own person, strong-willed but equally generous, as everyone who knew her could attest. A wizard in the kitchen, ?the Dode?s? Cajun cooking was widely acclaimed, her own family many times having to wait in line for a bowl of seafood gumbo behind a crowd of hungry neighbors. When, in October 2009, she was diagnosed with esophageal cancer, she decided she would at last close her business and live out her remaining days with her feet kicked up, drink cup in hand, and her fondest feline companions, Mirabella and Fiona by her side. She is preceded in death by her parents, Mord Otis Williams and Virgie Leigh Miller Williams of Baton Rouge, Louisiana; her sister Nell Williams Broyles, her beloved niece, Diane Broyles, cousin Tara Thompson, and her good friend, Laura Lotspeich. She is survived by her son, D. Clay Ulmer of Atlanta, Georgia, her daughter Kelli Ulmer Jones and her husband Randy Jones of Shreveport, Louisiana; her daughter Susan Ulmer Bloodworth and her husband Tommy Bloodworth of McKinney, Texas; grandsons Dillon and Dalton Bloodworth; cousins Mona Thompson and Todd Thompson of Benton, Louisiana; numerous nieces and nephews; her two longtime special friends Calvin Moore and Jimmy Lee Lindsay, of Shreveport; and her two best buddies, Ethelyn Hicks and Fern Devenney, both of Shreveport. Her family wishes to thank Carol Humphries and Cheri Hinkle of Willis Knighton Hospice of Louisiana. Memorials may be made to the Shreveport Robinson Animal Rescue, or the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation. Since her family is abiding by her wishes that there be no memorial service, friends, customers, or family members are asked to share their memories online at www.boonefh.com.