Elizabeth K. Dodson, a resident of Boca Raton, Fla., and a patron of the arts, died quietly in her sleep early Wednesday, January 14, 2009.

She was born of Hungarian immigrants and raised in the small coal-mining town of Pricedale. Even though her parents, who ran a neighborhood grocery store, were not college graduates, they instilled in their children that college was a necessity.

Mrs. Dodson decided to attend nursing school at St. Francis Hospital, Pittsburgh, graduated and continued on to Catholic University in Washington, D.C., to earn a nursing degree. She was the recipient of an honorary doctorate from California University of Pennsylvania.

She began her career in public health service and, at one time, was the personal nurse of Justice Louis D. Brandeis of the U.S. Supreme Court.

She and Harry Dodson met, were married and settled in Washington, D.C. Mr. Dodson was an attorney, and Mrs. Dodson was chief nurse with the Veterans Administration. They worked in Washington, D.C., until retirement and then relocated to Florida. Upon settling in Boca Raton, both became involved with various charities.

Her husband became ill and passed away in 1992. Mrs. Dodson remained involved with several charities in Florida and Pennsylvania. She donated $1 million to California University of Pennsylvania to build an alumni building in honor of her mother and father, Julia and Michael Kara.

In Boca Raton, she was involved with the Red Cross, one of her favorite charities, underwriting its annual ball for many years and very much enjoyed the annual Mad Hatters luncheon.

In addition to her other charitable endeavors, her foundation wound up its affairs in 2005 and made terminating distributions of $1,000,000 with a matching state gift for the Christine Lynn School of Nursing auditorium at Florida Atlantic University as well as a $500,000 grant to Lynn University for the drama and arts department.

A private memorial service is planned.