David T. Dodge

North Stonington, Conn. - David T. Dodge, beloved husband of Ellen Dodge, of North Stonington, Conn., died Thursday, Jan. 4, 2018 in Providence, R.I., from complications of Alzheimer's.

Born in Hanover, N.H. in 1940, he grew up in Stonington, Conn., where he attended Pine Point School. He graduated from St. Paul's School, Concord, N.H., and, after a stint at the University of Chicago, graduated from Columbia University in New York. He and Ellen moved to North Stonington in 1969 to a house in the corner of a 10-acre field at the end of a half-mile dirt road. The place drew a community of friends with children and dogs. David dubbed it Dogfight. He worked at the Mystic Seaport in the 1970s and for the Connecticut Commission on the Arts in the 1980s. David was a philosopher, photographer, steam boat engineer, motorcycle wrangler, model airplane builder and flyer (including the caper in Grand Central Station), super-smart and a smart aleck, irascible, sweet, creative, funny, a collector of all things funky, a wise and adoring father with a highly tuned balderdash meter, and a true-blue husband.

David is survived by his wife, his brother, Nathaniel, of Avondale R.I., and his sister, Elisabeth (Poo) White and family, Terry, Charles and Annie White and her family, Ken Rampino, Maisie and Isabelle; as well as his daughter-in-law, Molly Gray, of Warren, Maine. He was predeceased by his son, Matthew Dodge; and his parents, John E. Dodge and Carlota S. Dodge.

David's family sends heartfelt gratitude for the excellent care provided by staff at Home Instead, The Carriage House at The Elms in Westerly, R.I., and Berkshire Place in Providence, R.I. this past year.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Westerly Library, Westerly R.I.; or to the Alzheimer's Association at alz.org.

Memorial services will be private.