Kenneth R. Dodge, who in 1973 became one of the first physician assistants in New York State, died on April 15 at Stony Brook University Hospital after a fall. He was 81.
Known to his patients as Dr. Dodge, he began his career as a P.A. with the East Hampton Medical Group under Dr. Robert Sucsy and went on to serve the communities of East Hampton and Montauk for over four decades.
“We did emergency medicine,” he recalled in a 2014 article in The Star as he was preparing to retire. “Back then, there weren’t even emergency room doctors at the hospital. An ambulance brought patients to the medical center and some of us in the medical group would just go out to the ambulance and take a look at the patient.”
He then worked with Dr. Raymond Medler, doing internal medicine, and Dr. Michael Israel in East Hampton, Dr. Kristy Chen in Noyac, and finally Dr. Anthony Knott in Montauk. He also worked for the Suffolk County medical examiner’s office in the 1980s, and was a consulting physician for the East Hampton Town Police Department for many years.
Mr. Dodge was a 30-year member and officer of the East Hampton Ambulance Association and its chief for five years. The founder of its youth squad, he worked closely with the Dory Rescue Squad on emergency response training and drills, and was one of East Hampton’s first instructors of emergency medical technicians and advanced E.M.T.s.
In 2006, Mr. Dodge was recognized for having responded to 3,500 ambulance calls during his years as a volunteer.
Born in Queens on Dec. 12, 1944, to C. Arthur Dodge and the former Loretta Bigelow, he grew up in Lake Ronkonkoma and graduated from Sachem High School.
“In 1964, I tried to get into the Air Force,” he told The Star in 2014. His hope was to “get into the firematics and crash crew,” but when he went to get his physicals, “the doctor flunked me.” His draft notice arrived not long after that, and he volunteered for the Fleet Marine Force, serving two tours in Vietnam, from 1965 to 1969, as a senior corpsman with the Marine Corps 3rd Battalion, 1st Marines. He was trained as a hospital corpsman and attended Naval Hospital Corps School and Field Medical Service School.
Among his many military honors, he was awarded a National Defense Service Medal, the Vietnam Cross of Gallantry, a combat action ribbon, a Vietnam Campaign Medal, a Vietnam Service Medal with a Bronze Star, and a Navy Achievement Medal “for outstanding achievement in the superior performance of his duties in the field of professional achievement” for having been involved in five major combat operations and more than 60 combat patrols. His service inspired two children and a grandchild to join the military.
Back at home in Bay Shore, working at Sears, married and expecting his first child with his wife, Kathleen, Mr. Dodge learned about a new physician assistant program at Stony Brook University that seemed made for former hospital corpsmen like himself who had returned from Vietnam with real-world experience. A P.A. is “a good triage officer,” he told The Star in 2014.
In 1971, he was one of 15 people to join the university’s inaugural physician assistant class. After completing the program, he moved to East Hampton with his growing family to work with Dr. Sucsy. “I believe I was the first physician assistant working in a private practice on Long Island,” he said in 2014.
He had four children and was a summer soccer coach for 25 years and a scoutmaster for the Boy Scouts in the late 1980s. He served on the East Hampton School Board for nine years, six as its president, at a time when the John M. Marshall Elementary School was expanded. The Springs Fire Department honored him in 1981 for his service to the community.
His first marriage ended in divorce. On May 18, 2003, he married Ruth Charls, gaining five stepchildren in the process.
Mr. Dodge was active in Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 550 and in American Legion Post 419 here and visited local schools every year for their Veterans Day celebrations.
A fan of muscle cars, he ordered that a red 1970 Dodge Charger be waiting for him when he returned home from his final tour in Vietnam. His musical interests extended to American folk music, especially Bob Dylan, and psychedelic rock, and he had a record collection of more than 500 albums.
He enjoyed boating, snorkeling, scuba diving, clamming, photography, and cooking, particularly sharing dessert recipes. In 2015 and 2017 he won the chowder competition at the town trustees’ Largest Clam Contest. He was a participant in the town’s oyster farming pilot program with his grandchildren, and raised his own chickens and geese at home.
He is survived by his wife, Ruth Dodge, and by his children: Kate Dodge McCarty and Kenny Dodge of East Hampton, Kimberly Dodge of Charlotte, N.C., and Keith Dodge of Richmond, Va. Also surviving are his stepchildren, Benjamin Trowbridge of Goose Creek, S.C., Bethany Trowbridge of East Hampton, Nathaniel Trowbridge of East Hampton and Summerville, S.C., Deborah Trowbridge of Honolulu, and Deyo Jared Trowbridge of East Hampton, and 14 grandchildren.
Two siblings, Nancy Dodge and Thomas Dodge, died before him.
A funeral was held on April 22 at St. Luke’s Episcopal Church in East Hampton. His family has suggested memorial contributions to Project Most, online at projectmost.org.
