Stephen "Steve" Licle Dodd, 70, passed away peacefully on November 10, 2025, surrounded by family.

Steve was born the oldest of three children to Harold and Virginia Dodd on November 25, 1954, in Huntington, West Virginia. The son of a hard-working railroader, he moved several times during his childhood and graduated from Paul G. Blazer High School in Ashland, Kentucky in 1973. A standout athlete, he played basketball at David Lipscomb College in Nashville, Tennessee. It was there that he met the love of his life and his wife of 48 years, Deborah "Kay" Hill, in 1976. They married on June 4, 1977, in Nashville. In 1984, they welcomed their first child, Michael. Three years later, they had their daughter, Hillary. Steve took tremendous pride in his children and loved to tell others about his family.

Steve had many titles: husband, dad, brother, son, friend, and perhaps his most well-known role: Coach. He began his career as an assistant coach at Battleground Academy in Franklin shortly after college graduation, and he went on to coach for nearly 50 years at both the high school and college levels. His highest coaching honor was being inducted into the NAIA Coaching Hall of Fame during his time at Lindsey Wilson College in 2001. He invested countless hours in the lives of young men on his basketball teams, not only in their physical skills, but also their personal character development. Known for being a disciplinarian, he also had a soft spot and strongly believed in seeing the good in everyone. He was known for giving second chances to young men who may have been written off by others. One of his teams lovingly coined the nickname "AriDoddle" for him because he famously delivered so many one-liners of wisdom, including, "To have a friend is to be a friend," and "You are where you are because it's where you chose to be." During the last few weeks of his life, his far-reaching impact on young lives was very apparent in the outpouring of love and stories shared by his former players, coaches, and friends in the basketball world.

Steve is survived by his wife, Kay, his siblings, Gary and Melanie, his children and their spouses, Michael (Amanda) and Hillary (Miron), as well as seven grandchildren: Lucy, Grant, Annie, Sadie, David, Teddy, and Ginny. He was preceded in death by his parents, Harold and Virginia.

A service for Steve will be held at Woodfin Memorial Chapel in Murfreesboro, Tennessee on Monday, November 17, 2025. Visitation will be from 10:00am to 12:00pm, followed by a memorial service at noon, officiated by Gary Dodd and Todd Parsley. The burial will follow at Roselawn Memorial Gardens. Family members will serve as pallbearers, and former players and coaching friends will serve as honorary pallbearers.

An online guestbook for the Dodd family is available at www.woodfinchapel.com.