On Jan. 20, 2009, Princeton and our class suffered a grievous loss with the death of David Dodge.
Raised in Beirut, Lebanon, David entered Princeton from Deerfield. He joined Charter Club, but left Princeton to serve as an officer in the Army’s Office of Strategic Services. He earned a bachelor’s degree in history in 1948 and a master’s in Oriental languages in 1949.
He joined Arabian American Oil Co. in Saudi Arabia before marrying Doris Westfall and moving to Beirut in 1952, where he worked for Tapline until 1977. David became president of the Near East Foundation in New York City, but returned in 1980 to Beirut and the American University of Beirut, which was founded by his great-grandfather in 1863.
While serving AUB, David was abducted in 1982 by Shiite militia members and held for one year. He returned to Princeton as recording secretary and then rejoined AUB as president in New York City.
After retiring, he advised several class presidents as a class vice president for two decades. Doris died in 2000 and David married Margaret White, who survives him, as do his children, Nina, Bayard ’78 and his wife P.J., Melissa ’80 and her husband Mark Rutherford ’80, and Simon; grandchildren Bayard ’08 and Andrew Dodge and Sarah and Bill Rutherford; his sister, Grace; three stepchildren; and eight step-grandchildren.
We mourn the loss of a classmate who gave the full measure of his life to family, to service, to Princeton and his class.