Ellen Baum Dunn of Keyport, NJ and recently Lee, MA passed away on September 12 surrounded by her family, five days before her 87th birthday. Born in Brooklyn, NY in 1939 to Herman and Anna Baum, Eastern European immigrants, and older sister to Sandy (predeceased). Ellen grew up in Chicago.

As a girl Ellen loved swimming, volleyball, roller and ice skating, canoeing, dancing and playing piano, and did water ballet in high school. She was studious and was double promoted in grades, graduating 9th out of 150 students in high school. She had a close knit gang of six girlfriends who called themselves "The P Club". She loved summer camp and libraries.

Ellen was a voracious reader and researcher, favoring articles, newspapers, nonfiction, books on interior design and flowers. Everything she read was underlined and notated in red pen. She kept binders and index cards filled with notes and articles to refer to if she needed information on a topic, usually health and longevity. She loved PBS and enjoyed watching documentaries.

Ellen earned a B.A. in Teaching of Spanish from the University of Illinois, Urbana in 1960. During that time she was awarded a fellowship and spent a year living in Mexico, later becoming a high school Spanish teacher. In 1960 she married Bob Dunn and had two children. Ellen and Bob divorced in 1977 and she never remarried.

Ellen was a lifelong learner. Over her lifetime she took a variety of classes on interior design and decorating, flower arranging, color theory, and computer skills. In her mid 40s she earned a Masters Degree in Educational Psychology from NYU, and was especially proud of earning an A in statistics! She was a gifted writer and used that skill to chronicle her life in (often humorous) short stories and in her work as a technical editor for Prudential, Combustion Engineering, and Mobil (where she lamented engineers poor writing skills) and later as a social services writer for the NJ Department of Youth and Family Services. During these latter ten years she was recognized for her extreme care and skill in writing comprehensive and sensitive documentation of the lives of children in the foster care system who were up for adoption. This was heartfelt and traumatic work for her and she gave so much of herself to do the best for the children.

As a mother in the 1970s she was ahead of her time, insisting on using seatbelts, restricting sugar consumption for better health and, though she was not a gourmet cook, laboring over cooking healthy food for her family including fresh vegetables from the home garden. She found alternative schooling for her children after seeing that the local elementary school was not anoptimal learning environment for them, and joined an intergenerational recreation organization (Eastern Cooperative Recreation School), where new and lasting friendships were formed.

For her whole life Ellen most loved international folk dancing and folk music, African drumming, folk crafts and musical instruments from all over the world, international culture, researching and organizing. For more than 20 years Ellen lived in the senior citizen apartments at Bethany Manor in Keyport NJ. We would like to acknowledge the staff and other residents for the safe and clean environment and for their friendly and supportive care, especially in her last few years. We likewise thank Veronica and the caring aides from Comfort Care Home Healthcare who made it possible for her to remain in her apartment for several years after she was unable to live independently.

We would also like to acknowledge the nursing and activities staff at Lee Healthcare, where she spent the final two years of her life. They were caring, friendly, and easy to work with. We feel very blessed to have had Ellen nearby where we could visit her often.

On a personal note, Ellen took great care in her appearance. Her thick brown hair was always well cut and styled, with make-up on before leaving the house, and she delighted in wearing outfits she liked.

Ellen was an inherently good and kind person. Once Alzheimer's ensued, her sense of humor shone. To laugh with her in the last couple years of her life was a true gift. Jewish tradition suggests that dying on Rosh Hashana is an opportunity for mortals to earn an eternal life and an opportunity to transcend our physical reality. We will miss Ellen very much and know that she will always be with us.

Ellen leaves her son Jeremy Dunn and daughter-in-law, Delsie (of Becket, MA), daughter Deb Dunn and son-in-law Jim Feiner (of Chilmark, MA), and grandson Elijah Dunn-Feiner. The family will gather at a later date for an informal memorial service honoring Ellen and her long life. Donations in her name can be made to the Alzheimer's Association (alz.org).

Alzheimer's Association
Web: http://www.alz.org