Phyllis Boushall Dodge

Phyllis Boushall Dodge, author, dedicated wife and mother, farmer and community activist, died peacefully Saturday, Jan. 17, 2004, at her home in Pownal, Vt. Death followed a heart attack suffered on Christmas Eve.
Born in Atlantic City, N.J., in 1923, she was the daughter of Joseph D. and Alice (Marvel) Boushall. She attended the Moravian Seminary in Bethlehem, Pa.; Miss Fine’s School in Princeton, N.J.; and Wells College in Aurora, N.Y.
It was during her years in Princeton that she met her future husband, Cleveland E. Dodge Jr., who she married in December 1942. At the end of World War II, they moved to Schenectady, N.Y., and in 1951 to Quarry Hill Farm in Pownal, where they have lived ever since.
For a decade, Mrs. Dodge raised sheep, beef and chickens on the farm and provided fresh eggs for her friends and customers in Williamstown.
She was a member of the boards of the United Counseling Service in Bennington, the Solomon Wright Public Library in Pownal, the Bennington Museum Acquisitions Committee, and president of Recording for the Blind and Dyslexic (Berkshire Unit), where she spent many years reading for the blind.
A tireless fundraiser for the charities she championed, she received the Woman of the Year award in 1967 from the Bennington Business and Professional Women’s Club. She was a member of the Friday Club in Williamstown, Mass., and the Cosmopolitan Club in New York.
Mrs. Dodge had a keen interest in history, a love of books, art, and travel. She was author of “Tales of the Phelps Dodge Families,” published by the New York Historical Society in 1987. This book tells the history of the Dodge family from the 17th to the early 20th century as copper entrepreneurs and philanthropists. It received wide acclaim as a social history of the city of New York.
The Dodges traveled throughout the world visiting friends and family. Her favorite destination was London, where she owned an apartment and kept in touch with her many English friends and interests.
The Dodges delighted in giving parties on both sides of the ocean. In Pownal their annual “Sportsfest” in September and New Year’s Day parties became part of community tradition.
She was an active sportswoman, and enjoyed skiing, tennis and golf.
Besides her husband, she leaves a son and daughter-in-law, Cleveland E. “Andy” Dodge III and Wendy Dodge of Montreal, Quebec; two daughters and sons-in-law, Alice and Robin Berkeley of London, England, and Sally Dodge Mole and Dale Guldbrandsen of Manchester, Vt.; six grandchildren and their spouses, Matthew Mole and his wife, Katherine, William Dodge and his wife, Leonora, and Alice Dodge all of Burlington, Vt.; Christopher Mole and his wife, Stephanie, and Hugo Berkeley of New York City, and Julia Berkeley of Sydney, Australia; two great-grandchildren, Anson and Isaac; a sister, Martha B. Tottenham-Smith of Princeton, N.J.; and many cousins, nieces, and nephews.
FUNERAL NOTICE -- A memorial service for Phyllis Dodge will be held Saturday, Jan. 24, 11 a.m., at St. John’s Episcopal Church in Williamstown, Mass. Interment will take place at a later date at the Dodge family mausoleum at Woodlawn Cemetery in the Bronx, N.Y.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be sent to a favorite charity in her memory.