Robyn Dodson

Stonington - Robyn Smith Stucky Dodson, 85, died peacefully on Oct. 30, 2008, at Yale New Haven Hospital.

Since 1999, she was a resident at Evergreen Woods Retirement Community, in North Branford and was a long-time resident of Stonington. She was the widow of the late William McDowell Stucky, journalist and dramatist; and of the late John Esser Dodson, namesake of Dodson's Boatyard in Stonington.

Robby was an artist, a world traveler, and lover of life. She was also exemplary in her courage in the face of debilitating illness and pain that for more than twenty years increasingly compromised her physical mobility, but never conquered her interest in life and the world. She had a pioneering spirit, she was the first Dean of Women at Phillips Exeter Academy when its co-ed Summer Program paved the way for its full move to co-education. She also headed an office for the American Field Service in Washington D.C., working with Embassies of many nations to encourage international student exchanges, and working with families in the Southern half of the U.S. to help them provide a rich experience for their visiting students and themselves.

She had worked locally at the Pine Point School in Stonginton, and was a tutor in the Adult Literacy Program, was chairperson of the United Way charity fundraising, and was an active artist and supporter of the arts in the Stonington-New London area. She was a woman of strength and character, of humor, strong opinion, and spirit, and of generosity toward her children, step-children, grandchildren and friends, all of which she shared to the very end.

She is survived by her two sons, William M. Stucky and Robert H. Stucky, and their spouses; her step-children, Julie Heerlein, Doña Dodson, and Keith Dodson and their spouses; four grandchildren and nine step-grandchildren; three nieces and four nephews and their families.

A memorial service will be held at 11 a.m. on Saturday, Dec. 13, at Calvary Church in Stonington.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Calvary Church; or to the Evergreen Woods Employee Assistance Fund in North Branford.

For information or to share a note of remembrance/condolence with her family, please visit www.dinotofuneral.com