Mrs. Judith M. "Judy" Dodge

Judith M. “Judy” (Melvin) Dodge, 81, died on Thursday, December 6, 2018 at the Sugar Hill Assisted Living Facility in Dalton. Judy was born on March 17, 1937 in Framingham, Mass. to Curtis H. and Grace A. (McDormand) Melvin. Judy grew up in Hopkinton, Mass and was educated in the public schools. Judy had a wonderful soprano voice, and after graduating from Hopkinton High School, attended the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston. She was very hard working, working three jobs to support herself in school. At one of those jobs, as a paid soloist in a Brookline, Massachusetts church, she met the love of her life (and husband of 59 years) Carlton Dodge. Judy graduated from the conservatory in 1959, and declined an opportunity to sing in the Robert Shaw Chorale, in order to marry Carlton (to Carlton’s everlasting pleasure.) Soon after they married, they moved from Boston to the Berkshires, living in Dalton and Pittsfield. Judy was a homemaker and had three children. In 1977, when her own children were of school age, Judy became an elementary school music teacher in the Central Berkshire Regional School District. She taught in all the elementary schools there – one year, she had over 1100 students. She was a competent, caring, hard-working teacher who loved all the children she taught. It brought her great joy to introduce music to children. She found teaching music to special needs children to be some of the most rewarding work of her career. After retiring from the classroom in 1993, Judy got involved in the community. She took computer courses at BCC. She also worked as a volunteer genealogist at the Berkshire Athenaeum. In all of her work, Judy strove for excellence. Judy is survived by her loving husband, Carlton, of Dalton; her daughter and son-in-law Janet and Jim Rohlfs of Savage, MD; her son Steven C. Dodge of Lee; her daughter and son-in-law Kathy and Wayne Fletcher of Nashua, NH and three grandchildren Julia, Keith, and Andrew. Calling hours will be Friday, December 14, from 4-7 at the Bartlett-Wellington funeral home in Dalton. A memorial service in celebration of Judy’s life will be held at the First Congregational Church in Dalton on Saturday, December 15, at 11:00 with a reception to follow at the church. Internment will be private and held later in the Spring. Memorial gifts, in Judy’s honor, may be made to the First Congregational Church, 514 Main Street, Dalton, Mass. Carlton would also like to thank the Sugar Hill Assisted Living Facility for its outstanding compassion and care for Judy in her last two years.

Mrs. Judith M. "Judy" Dodge

March 17, 1937 - December 6, 2018