Darlene “Dodie” Marcus Dickey Messer Meeks, 100, died October 16th, 2025.  

She was born March 31, 1925, in Holland, Michigan, to James J. and Helen Blanche Rutgers Marcus. She is survived by her sister Sharon Blifford of Portales, New Mexico; daughter Helen Varner of Georgetown; and sons Robert Edward Dickey of Houston; James Marcus Dickey of Galveston; and Michael Douglas Messer of Houston.  

She was preceded in death by her son, Kimball Rutgers Messer, of Webster.

She was a grandmother & great grandmother.

She worked at the Galveston Daily News for many years as columnist and journalist under the pseudonym Marcus Dickey. She was an accomplished artist, poet, and author of six books including the History of the University of Texas Medical Branch, Stone Sings (1980), When I Got Dressed Again (2001), The Field (2002), Pretty Little Girls and Other Men’s Wives (2003), and A Letter from Marfa (2006) with Tom Shuford. She also illustrated A Bouquet of Poems for Children of All Ages (2013).

She was a member of Emerson Unitarian Church and Women in the Visual and Literary Arts (WIVLA) in Houston.  

A celebration of Dodie’s life will be held on Saturday, January 17th, 2026, at 1 PM, at Emerson Unitarian Universalist Church, 1900 Bering Drive, Houston TX 77057. 

Celebration of Life service link: https://emersonhouston.org/dmeeks/ (The link will work shorty before 1 PM on that day)