This might be a good time to offer some background.

Robert Dodge was born in Exeter in 1938 and lived in Barrington at the time of his death. As noted previously, he was married and the father of four young children. His wife, Elona, was employed at Riverside Rest Home in Dover, also working an overnight shift, and Dodge had dropped her off at work on his way to Kidder Press the night of his death. He was a graduate of Dover High, Class of 1956. The yearbook shows a nickname of “Bubba,” that he was a member of the Future Farmers of America group all four years, and lists his long-term ambition as “wrestling.” (One personal activity was weightlifting, with an obvious, well-developed upper body. Young commented on this at the outset of the autopsy.) He was generally known as a quiet, well-liked person but not a regular participant in the school’s many extracurricular and sports programs. The class yearbook also assigned a quote to each graduate, whether directly from the person or chosen by the editors, is unclear, but ironically, the one shown alongside Dodge’s photo was “Never say die.” (And coincidentally, the first meeting of the Class of ’56 15th Reunion Planning Committee had been scheduled for Jan. 9. It was a somber gathering.) He had several jobs following graduation, serving for a time as a special police officer with the town of Durham and a similar position with the town of Barrington.

And in the midst of all of the official police activity and the investigation of the circumstances surrounding the death, a ceremony in memory of his life was held at the Tasker Funeral Home. It was led by both Pastor Howard Higgins of the Crown Point Baptist Church in Strafford and the Rev. Robert Clark of the Church of God in Rochester. Several top executives from Kidder Press attended, as did Selectman George Musler of the town of Barrington. Burial was at Pine Hill Cemetery.

(to be continued)