Merrimack Police Comm Supervisor Dies at 50

This morning the police department announced that after battling a long illness, Michele Dudash, longtime communication supervisor at the , has died.

Dudash, 50, died on Wednesday, Nov. 2. She worked for the Merrimack Police Department for more than 27 years, and, according to Chief Mark Doyle, had been the communication supervisor for at least 10 years.

“She's one of those people who … if I could sum it up in a word she was ... dedicated,” Doyle said. “She was really an example of what it means to have work ethic. She was an example others should follow.”

Doyle described her as hardworking, tireless, having an exceptional eye for detail, and everything you'd want in an employee, in a leader.

“She was the finest dispatcher I've worked with in all my years,” Doyle said of his longtime coworker and friend. Dudash started in Merrimack about a year before Doyle.

As the communication supervisor, Dudash was in charge of the day-to-day operations of the members of her department. In addition to scheduling and approving time off requests and other departmental paperwork, she was in charge of making sure all the department's electronic communication devices were functioning properly and more.

She enjoyed baking, going to the theater in Boston and spending time at Lake Winnipesaukee, according to her obituary.

She was a “loving and proud” mother and grandmother of four children and one grandchild.

Dudash is survived by her three daughters, Kassie Dudash, of Manchester, Steph Dudash and Kristi Dudash; a son Michael Dudash, all of Merrimack; her parents Frances and Judson Edwards of Mirror Lake; her sister, Dana and her husband David Crowell of Chichester; and her grandson, Zachary of Manchester.

A wake will be held Sunday, Nov. 6 from 10 a.m.-1 p.m. at . A funeral will follow at 1 p.m. and a graveside service will be held at Last Rest Cemetery on Baboosic Lake Road at 10 a.m. on Monday.

Read her full obituary on Rivet Funeral Home's website.