MILFORD – In the late 1950s, when Bill Dyer joined his father, Raymond, and older brother, Merton, in the family’s drugstore business, there were no chain pharmacies and drug companies never advertised on television or radio.

Back then, neighbors knew each other. Doctors made house calls. And nobody worried about health insurance.

Dyer, 76, who died Aug. 1 following a long illness, had been a familiar figure for years, standing behind the pharmacy counter dispensing medicine and advice.

“He was like the family doctor that no longer exists,” said Lorraine Carson, a longtime town resident who became a regular customer at the pharmacy after moving to town in the 1970s. “He was that sort of caliber.”

Dyer leaves a son, James W. Dyer, of Milford, two granddaughters, two nephews, his former wife, Carolyn Dyer-White, of Ormond Beach, Fla., and a community of local volunteer firefighters that he was a part of for decades.

“Dad liked to have a good time. He was easygoing,” said Dyer’s son, James.

Over the years, Dyer, his father and brother operated three pharmacies under the name Dyer Drugs Inc. In addition to the drugstore on the Oval at the entrance to South Street, opened by the elder Dyer in 1929, the family ran a second pharmacy in Peterborough, purchased in 1958 after the death of its previous owner, Carolyn Dyer-White’s uncle. Later, they opened a third store in New Ipswich.

The business celebrated its 100th anniversary in 1989, a milestone reported in The Cabinet.

Dyer graduated from Milford High School in 1952 and from the Massachusetts College of Pharmacy in 1956. He had a lifelong interest in chemistry and enjoyed making pharmaceutical compounds, an enterprise that has grown rare in recent years.

“He was such a good provider, and he really cared about people,” James Dyer said. “He was a kind-hearted person.”

In the early days, the pharmacy had a soda fountain, magazine racks, and shelves lined with over-the-counter medicines and cosmetics.

Pharmacies made deliveries, and people who came to pick up prescriptions often lingered long after the transaction was completed, sharing stories and jokes with the pharmacist.

“He was there seven days a week,” said Dyer’s former wife, Carolyn, who remained a close friend after the couple divorced in the early 1970s.

Bill and his father, Raymond, were members of the town’s volunteer fire department, and if a call came in during business hours, the two would post a sign on their door: “Pharmacy department temporarily closed. Gone to a fire.”

Dyer was a member of the town’s fire department for decades, and he served as treasurer of the Firemen’s Relief Association, a post his father had held before him.

He was also a member of the Keyes Trust, the Milford Historical Society and the Navy League, and he was a past commander of the Amoskeag Power Squadron.

He also served on the board of directors of the Souhegan Nursing Association, the Pillsbury Home, formerly the Home for Aged Women, and the Milford Hospital Association.

“He was incredibly witty,” said Dyer-White. “People will still tell you, ‘I remember the joke he told me when … ’?”

Dyer-White said that her former spouse was a history buff, a big band enthusiast, and a musician who played the trumpet and the drums.

For many years, he hosted a weekly big band music radio show broadcast from Concord.

“He was one of the nicest guys,” said Carson, the longtime town resident who served with Dyer on a committee charged with restoring the original eagle sculpture that now sits in the balcony in the Town Hall auditorium. “He really was emotionally involved with it all.”

Carson also recalled how much Dyer had enjoyed his customers and the friends he made wherever he went.

“He was extremely interesting,” she said. “He was involved in so much … very, very interesting to listen to, very knowledgeable.”

Hattie Bernstein can be reached at 673-3100, ext. 24, or hbernstein@cabinet.com.