Dorothy Siddons Lasher Rodgers of North Andover, Massachusetts, formerly of Montclair, died peacefully and surrounded by family on Feb. 4, 2023. She was 94.
Mrs. Rodgers was born in 1928 in Athens, Ohio, to George Starr Lasher and Elizabeth (Siddons) Lasher, and she grew up there.
She graduated from Athens High School and went on to earn a B.A. in drama from Ohio University and an M.A. in theater from Northwestern University. While at Ohio University she joined Pi Beta Phi Fraternity for Women and was honored by the national organization in 2022 as she celebrated her 75th year as Pi Beta Phi alumna.
In the 1950s she taught high school drama at the University of Chicago Laboratory Schools. It was while living in Waukegan, Illinois, that she met Robert Ryerson Rodgers, and they were married in 1955. They moved to Ithaca, New York, in 1963, where they raised their four children.
Mrs. Rodgers was an avid lover of theater and music her entire life. While at Ohio University she starred in a production of Eugene O’Neil’s “Ah Wilderness!” and she went on to act in a number of other theater productions, including “Camille” and “Little Red Riding Hood.”
She was a talented singer and a member of three Episcopal Church choirs over the past 45 years, including two in Buffalo, New York, and most recently the choir at St. James Episcopal Church in Montclair, where she sang for 14 years. She was also a member of the Concert Chorale of Caldwell.
Mrs. Rodgers was committed to higher education for women through her participation in scholarship funds offered through the Pan Hellenic Scholarship Foundation, and in the early 2000s as a book sale volunteer for the Montclair College Women’s Club.
She is survived by her four children, Christine Duskin (Marcus) of Langley, Washington, David (Joanne) of New York City, Mark (Maria) of North Andover, and Arthur (Martha Ross) of Washington, D.C.; eight grandchildren, and three nieces, Betsey Bruce, Kathleen Watt and Melanie Caldwell, and their families.
She was predeceased by her parents and by an older sister, Mary Elizabeth (Lasher) Barnette.
A memorial service was held April 1 at St. James Episcopal Church.
The family asks that any donations be made to the St. James Episcopal Church choir.