Martha L. Dodge

Martha L. Dodge passed away December 27, 2009 Martha L. Dodge, former Supervisor and Council Member of the Town of Ossining, died Sunday, December 27, 2009 in Mt. Kisco, NY after a lengthy illness. She was 51. Dodge was born in Indianapolis, Indiana and moved to North Tarrytown (now Sleepy Hollow), New York while in grade school. Her family later settled in Tarrytown, and she graduated from Sleepy Hollow High School in 1976. She earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in history from Wesleyan University in 1980, but eventually gravitated to sound engineering and radio and television production as a vocation. In 1986, she was awarded a Master of Arts degree in Media Studies from the New School for Social Research. During the 1980s, Dodge was an on-air personality and co-host for "Kids America," a live children's radio segment for WNYC in New York City. Later, she was a writer and on-air personality for "Total Panic," a weekly children's program on the Nickelodeon cable television channel. Dodge spent most of her career in media production at Caffmanna Communicorp in Stamford, CT, creating on-air promos for Nickelodeon, VH-1 and Lifetime cable channels. Dodge worked at Community Markets, an Ossining-based firm devoted to promoting local farm markets, from 2002 to 2006, first as a site manager and then as marketing director. She never lost her interest in sound production, however, and devoted her talent in this regard to both the Logrea Dance Academy and Westchester Ballet Company for the past 15 years. Dodge's last wish was to see her daughter Emma Jane Codman dance in this year's Westchester Ballet Company production of "The Nutcracker" at the Westchester County Center—and thanks to assistance from the Ossining Volunteer Ambulance Corp she was able to attend the performance. Active in a number of community organizations during the 22 years she lived in the village of Ossining, Dodge was appointed to the Town Council in 2006 to fill an open position and then was elected in 2007 for a full four-year term. On February 26, 2008, Dodge was unanimously named Town Supervisor by her fellow council members following the resignation of John Chervokas. Needing to win the November 2008 election to keep her new post, Dodge, a registered Democrat, ran on the Working Families Party Line after losing her parties endorsement and subsequently did not win in the general election. While on the Ossining Town Council and then as Supervisor, Dodge worked to increase public access to the Hudson River and championed inter-municipal agreements to achieve substantial savings for taxpayers. In addition, as Supervisor, Dodge created a special tax district that assured emergency services for Ossining. She was active in the PTA, served on the board of directors of the Interfaith Council for Action and was a founding member of the Ossining Village Friends of the Master Plan. In 2003, she also co-founded Ossining Families for Peace with three other friends, all fellow SHHS graduates. Besides her daughter, Dodge is survived by her husband, John Codman III; her son, John "Lyle" Codman IV; her father, Philip Leighton Dodge, and stepmother, Lilian Dodge; her mother, Helen Weirich, and stepfather, Charles Weirich; her brothers, Norman and William Dodge; and her half-sister, Stephanie Dodge. There will be a memorial service held for Dodge on Saturday, January 9, 2010 at 1:00 PM at the Scarborough Presbyterian Church, Scarborough, NY. Her family is requesting that in lieu of flowers donations be made to the Ossining Volunteer Ambulance Corp. Dorsey Funeral Home, Inc. 14 Emwilton Pl., Ossining 914-941-0167 www.dorseyfuneral.com