Ernestine Munro Dodge, 100, of East Boothbay, passed away Aug. 23.
She was born in Round Pond, March 30, 1909, daughter of John Parker Munro and Laura Gamage Munro.
Her father owned and operated a grocery store in Round Pond and she occasionally made the trip via horse and buggy around the entire Bristol peninsula with him taking orders, then making the deliveries. In the winter, they stopped at homes along the way to re-heat a stone used to keep her feet warm.
In 1918 the family moved to Portland where her parents operated a tea room. She attended Portland High School, then studied piano, voice and dance. She worked at Carter Bros. Jewelers before the family returned to Round Pond in 1936 and she assisted her mother who served as Matron of Lincoln Home in Newcastle. She also worked for the telephone company, and was at the switchboard at Bath Telephone on VJ Day, when all the lights lit up at once.
In 1940 she married Harry A. Dodge, a pharmacist, and moved to Schenectady, N.Y. Following his death in 1948, she returned to Round Pond to care for her parents and worked at Ethel’s Dress Shop in Damariscotta.
In 1951 she married Frank S. Dodge and moved to East Boothbay. She worked for several years at the Country Store and at the Custom House and Clipper Ship in Boothbay Harbor.
Throughout her life, she enjoyed music, played the piano daily at her home, and also at the East Boothbay Methodist Church. She was also a soloist for many years, and frequently sang at special functions as well as at church services. She directed the choir at the East Boothbay Church for many years, as well as the junior choir, and was active in the United Methodist Women. In her younger years, she told of playing the piano for silent films.
For more than 25 years, she ran the Mustard Seed Thrift Shop for the church as a volunteer.
Surviving are her daughter, Mary Dodge Brewer and husband Butch of Murray Hill, East Boothbay; son, Munro and wife Mary D. Dodge of Sea Street, Boothbay Harbor; stepson, John Alfred Dodge of Walpole, Mass.; three grandchildren, Sarah Brewer Morley of Edgecomb, Allison Dodge Williams of Fort Mill, S. C. and Alec Dodge of Boothbay Harbor; and two great-grandchildren, Hannah and Nicholas Morley.
Memorial service 10 a.m., Sat., Aug. 29 at the East Boothbay Methodist Church, pastor Lisa Berger officiating.
Friends who wish may make memorial donations in her name to the East Boothbay Methodist Church, P.O. Box 11, East Boothbay, ME 04544.
