Winifred D. Dodge

Winifred Doris Drechsler Dodge, age 93, beloved wife of the Rev. Paul Sherwood Dodge, to whom she was married for 72 years, went to be with her Lord and Savior Jesus Christ following a period of time in skilled nursing at Garden Spot Village retirement community. Known affectionately as “Winnie” to everyone who loved her welcoming smile, she and Paul have been living at Garden Spot Village in New Holland, Pennsylvania, since 2010, having moved from their coastal home in Machiasport, Maine.

Winnie was born in Pasadena, CA in 1932. Her family moved to Peru, Indiana, where she spent her school years, graduating in the Class of 1950. She then studied Bible and Christian Education for a year before training at New England Baptist School of Nursing, preparing for her early commitment to be a missionary nurse. She and Paul met at Gordon College, were married in 1953, and lived in Massachusetts, Ohio, and Kentucky as Paul pursued his theological studies. During those years she worked as a Public Health Nurse and at a large hospital, gaining valuable experience for her future missionary service.

That service was put on hold while Paul gained pastoral experience before going overseas to fulfill his calling as a teacher of tribal pastors. After pastoring two churches in Machias-port, Maine, they were appointed as missionaries to Thailand, where they worked for a total of 28 years. They also lived in the United States at two intervals – first in Bangor, Maine (1978-1980), where Paul served as the Interim Minister of the Essex Street Baptist Church, and later in Garden City, New York (1985-1994) as the pastor of The Church-In-The-Garden. While in Bangor, Winnie was the night charge nurse at the coronary care unit at St. Joseph’s Hospital, and In New York she was on the staff at Nassau Counnty Medical Center.

Music was a big part of her life. In her high school years she studied piano and sang in a trio and in college sang in a touring choir. Wherever she and Paul lived – even in the jungle – she had a piano. In later years she taught piano to many missionary children. Wherever they lived she sang in church choirs and chorales and was often the pianist or choir leader.

During their early missionary service in Thailand, Winnie helped found a jungle hospital where she trained local women as nurses and assisted in major surgery. She also was “the doctor” in charge when the doctor was away for long periods. At the same time, she taught our four sons during most of their elementary school years.

In the middle years of her service in Thailand she worked with church women of two language groups in another part of the country and trained village leaders to be “barefoot doctors.” She also served as Head Nurse for a malnutrition research program at the government hospital in Chiang Mai and was the nurse at a school for expatriate children.

In the later years she served as Head Nurse and Pharmacist for a 200-bed hospital in a camp for Cambodian refugees on the Thai-Cambodian border. Following that, while Paul was pastor of a Thai-Chinese church in the Bangkok area, she taught young Muslim children in the church’s day care program. After formal retirement, she and Paul returned to Asia on three occasions to teach at tribal seminaries in Myanmar (Burma) and Thailand.

Winnie is survived by her loving husband, Paul, and their four sons: Sherwood (Cindy) of Fairfield, Connecticut and Sun Valley, Idaho; Glen (Susan) of Sherwood, Arkansas; Forrest (Michelle) of Cleveland, in Queensland, Australia; and Brooks (Cricket) of Holtwood, Pennsylvania. Her passing will also be mourned by 11 grandchildren and 17 great grandchildren and numerous nephews, nieces, cousins and friends throughout the United States and globally. She was pre-deceased by her parents, Francis Arthur and Alice Perry Drechsler of Toledo, Ohio, and her brothers, Francis Perry Drechsler also of Toledo, and William Glenn Drechsler of Maitland, Florida.

A celebration of her life of service to the Lord and to countless people will take place in the Garden Spot Village Chapel, New Holland, PA on November 30, 2025, at 2 pm, with Pastor Chet Yoder officiating. Interment of her cremains will take place at a later date at the family plot in East Wilbraham, Massachusetts.

In lieu of flowers, memorial gifts may be sent to the Benevolence Fund, Garden Spot Village, 433 S. Kinzer Avenue, New Holland, PA 17557.

Arrangements have been entrusted to Groff-High Funeral Home, New Holland.