Ellen Stanhope Dunbar

Ellen Stanhope Dunbar beloved wife, mother, and grandmother, passed peacefully into eternal life on September 24 surrounded by her loving family.

Ellen and her identical twin sister, Jane, were born in Manchester, NH on April 26, 1947.  She grew up in Grasmere and attended a two-room schoolhouse where she and Jane may or may not have pretended to be each other at times. Ellen graduated from Goffstown High School in 1965 and Dean Junior College in Franklin, MA in 1967. While at Dean, she met the love of her life, Andrew Dunbar. They were married in September 1968 and spent their honeymoon at the Von Trapp Family Lodge in Stowe, VT.

They started married life in West Brattleboro, VT, joyfully welcoming the birth of their daughter Jessica.  In 1973 they moved to Peterborough, NH, where they purchased their very first home. This was the town Ellen would call home for the rest of her life. She loved her neighbors and the friends she met while being employed at Yankee Magazine, Helmers Publishing, and Byte Magazine. In retirement Ellen enjoyed her artwork and the quiet companionship of her four-footed friends, including her current dog Piper.

Ellen will be deeply missed by her husband of 53 years, Andrew Dunbar; her daughter and son-in-law Jessica and Christopher Raspa and her beloved granddaughter Eleanor Jane Raspa of Durham. Ellen’s greatest joy in life was being Eleanor’s “Nana”.

Ellen will also be fondly remembered by her other family members including her brother, Peter Stanhope, of Durham; her nieces Mary Stanhope of Boston MA and Victoria Stanhope of Portsmouth; her brother-in-law Stan Dunbar of Boxford, MA; and her cousins; including Susan Sharland of Cape Elizabeth ME who was like a sister to her. Ellen was predeceased by her parents John and Marion Stanhope and her sister Jane Stanhope Samson.

A celebration of Ellen’s life is being planned for Saturday October 16, 2021 at 11:00 am at the Peterborough United Methodist Church. The family requests those who wish to express sympathy to consider donating to the American Cancer Society in Ellen’s name. www.cancer.org

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