“One of his major obsessions was baseball,” said Michael Livingston, Dood’s son. “He was a catcher for Cedar Hill’s Team in the 30s and practiced endlessly throwing a ball against a wall and retrieving it.”
He was good at it, so good in fact, that he was chosen and was attending the St. Louis Cardinal minor league camp in Bartlesville, OK when he hurt his back and ended a potential major league career, Mike said. Still, he had his glory moments in the game. “Once while a member of Jefferson County’s All Star Team he played in an exhibition contest in DeSoto where he was picked to catch for Hall of Famer Dizzy Dean,” Mike said. “The catcher calls the pitches, and Dad said that wherever he held the glove, the ball would be there for nine innings with no hits given with one exception—the opposing pitcher. My dad asked Dizzy why he gave him that pitch and Diz answered, he hoped the pitcher would return him the favor when he was at bat,” Mike said. 
Dood is in the front row, first on the left.
Dood remained a baseball fan and especially a Cardinal fan for the rest of his life, even after his sight began to fail him.
“He was a rabid Cardinal fan and would get right up to the TV set and look at it sideways because he still had some peripheral vision,”Richard said. He certainly was an athlete, in his younger days, working as a milk truck driver, he would carry milk cans weighing as much as 70 pounds apiece, one in each hand then stack them and another two on top, says Richard. “He was a jock,” Richard said. “Even on his 100th birthday he could still beat me at arm wrestling.”
But few people knew the Dood who did art.
“He never worked in the field, but he had a degree in commercial art from Washington University,” Richard said. Paintings by both Dude and Alice grace their former home in Cedar Hill.
At his funeral on Tuesday, March 27, people talked about Dood’s character, his determination, hard work and gentleness. Richard said he hopes to take some of the peace and patience his dad had with him.
“I never saw my dad lose his temper. Well, perhaps twice and I think I was directly involved,” he said. “He was so patient. How does someone have so much self-control without being a control freak?” But if he didn’t lose his temper, it doesn’t mean he wasn’t stubborn, says Mike. “He had some habits, an obsessiveness or stubbornness, probably related to genes or maybe his Scottish heritage or German, Italian, etc. etc.” he said. Both Richard and Mike admire their dad’s persistence in the business of living. “He had the determination to garner every ounce of life he could and celebrate and be grateful for every moment he had,” Richard said. Continued next column... 
Score card from a 1934 Cedar Hill game. Any names you recognize?
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Painted by Dood Livingston
Continued from left column... “Dad stayed active and lucid for over 102 years. He was small of stature, not overweight, stayed occupied and focused,” Mike said.“Physical activity is important for your body but also linked to blood flow to the brain which is important for mental health.” Mike who helped care for his dad through his later years, said he did his best to keep his dad moving. “Both his parents died young, but there was probably longevity somewhere in his family. I think living past 102 can be an inspiration for everyone,” he said. 
Alice Lee and Archie "Dood" Livingston
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