Obituary: Edna McManus Dodge, 82, longtime resident of Guilford

Obituary courtesy of Guilford Funeral Home:

On Saturday, September 4th, Edna McManus Dodge longtime resident of Guilford passed away peacefully at her home surrounded by her loving family. Edna was the wife of David Dodge. She was born in Brooklyn, NY on Nov. 20, 1938, daughter of George and Edna (Sullivan) Seelandt. Edna was the loving mother of John McManus and his wife Pam; Maureen Terreri and her husband Steve; Donald McManus and his wife Susan; Jeanne Dostie and her late husband Paul; Thomas McManus and his wife Robyn; and James McManus. Step-mother of Darrell Dodge and his wife Tanya, and Elizabeth Dodge. She is also survived by fourteen grandchildren: Caroline & Elizabeth McManus, Adam (Meg), Eric (Nicole), and Andrew Terreri, and Aimee Caldwell (Chase), Stephanie Delaney, Kristen Dostie-Laprise (Dylan), Allison & Paige Dostie, Olivia & Matthew McManus, Meghan & Dylan Dodge, and three great-grandchildren. She was predeceased by her brother Robert Seelandt.

Edna enjoyed sports, horses and music from an early age. She told stories of attending Brooklyn Dodgers baseball games at Ebbets Field with her father. She was also an avid UCONN fan, cheering on her son, Jim who played football and soccer. Her love of horses began while caring for the horses at the family’s stable in Prospect Park in Brooklyn. The stables housed horses for the NYPD and visiting dignitaries. After moving to CT, she enjoyed visiting horse farms around Connecticut and instilled her love of horses in her grandchildren. She also enjoyed visiting Monmouth and Saratoga Race Track.

Edna loved listening to Elvis music ever since attending his first live television broadcast at the Ed Sullivan Theater. She continued to enjoy listening to Elvis through the years. Edna was a devout Catholic, strong in her faith from an early age. She taught CCD classes for many years, and later became a Eucharistic minister bringing communion to patients at Yale New Haven Hospital and St.Therese Church in Branford. She also attended mass daily for most of her life. Edna was a giver and a nurturer at an early age, seeking ways to help others. Before volunteering for the church, she was a candy striper and an orphanage volunteer in Brooklyn. Before retirement, Edna worked for Prudential Insurance Company as a licensed insurance agent. Her clients enjoyed the personable relationship with Edna as she had a way of making people feel comfortable.

Edna was truly the matriarch of the family, making sure that no event went uncelebrated as family events were most important to her. She was the number one cheerleader for her family. Edna attended every concert, play, dance recital, graduation, and sporting event of her children and grandchildren and every birthday and holiday were opportunities to gather.

She was a true New Yorker and loved family trips back to New York City especially to see the Christmas Spectacular. Driving by her home one could see that Christmas and Thanksgiving were her favorite holidays. The house lit up from the outside, and meticulously decorated on the inside, etched memories for the family that they will cherish forever.

Memorial contributions may be made to St. Jude Children’s Hospital, 501 St. Jude Place, Memphis, TN 38105; www.stjude.org ; Make-A-Wish Foundation, 56 Commerce Dr. Trumbull, CT 06611; https://wish.org/ct; or The Paul Dostie Kare Fund https://www.guilfordfoundation...