Nina H. Dodd

Nina Sybilla His, 85, was born on January 31st, 1937 to Mary Rose Eaton His, an accomplished violinist, and Georges Jean His, a Swiss émigré, businessman, singer, and oil painter. She is preceded in death by her brother, George Noel His, niece Noelle Ledlow His, and her daughter, Elizabeth Seybold Parsons.

Nina suffered the traumatic loss of her first husband in 1959, when USMC Lieutenant Denton von Groeben Seybold was killed in a training accident. She subsequently remarried David Atwater and had two daughters, Rosemary Atwater and Aubrey Atwater Donnelly, and for many years lived in Barrington, Rhode Island. By 1974, Nina and her family were living in Philadelphia, PA. In 1980, she married her third husband David Dodd, who died in 1991.

From 1993 to 2017, Nina lived in Lexington, MA – sharing a home with her late daughter Elizabeth and her children. In the final years of her life, she resided in Rhode Island – her family is grateful for the care she received at Atria Bay Spring Village and Grace Barker Health.

In addition to her daughters, Nina is survived by stepchildren Daniel Dodd, Shelley Dorazio, David Atwater, and Hydie Lown, grandchildren Anna Rose Parsons, Timothy Seybold Parsons, Thea Chiaradio, Noah Donnelly and his wife Elizabeth Donnelly, and Uriah Donnelly and his wife Janet Moscarello, as well as great-grandchildren Solena, Jasper, Elvis, Olive, and Beatrice.

An accomplished writer, Nina graduated from Brown University with a BA in English, and earned an MA in Creative Writing from Temple University. Nina wrote consistently through her life, especially in her preferred medium of poetry, making contributions to local magazines and newspapers, and publishing a book of poetry with her daughter Aubrey. A lover and supporter of the arts, Nina made generous contributions throughout the years to numerous organizations and charities, as well as volunteering her time with Sunday Bread, Rosie’s Place, and ARTS Rhode Island. She was a beloved fixture at Follen Unitarian Universalist Church in East Lexington, MA, where she found a spiritual home from 1993 on, and served as an usher as well as a catcher on the Follen Angels softball team.

Nina was loved by friends and family, who adored hearing her stories and anecdotes from an interesting life. Nina was well traveled, and until 2002 kept a home in County Cork in the southwest of Ireland. She will be missed by all who knew her.