Monday, May 6, 2013

Eleanor Arens Brewster, April 20, 2013

from the Salem News, Salem, Massachusetts, 23 April 2013


Born in Salem, she was the daughter of the late Orill and Ella (Farrell) Arens. She was raised, educated and remained a lifelong resident of the Willows section of Salem where she attended the former Juniper Point School, Phillips Grammar School and Salem High School.
She was know by many friends as Sue, especially during the time she was working for Mass Electric Company before she was married. Later, she was a long-time member of the Salem Garden Club and also a member of the Salem Lancers Square Dance Club. She enjoyed spending her time knitting and crocheting, and of course, tending her garden. She had a fondness for butterflies, cats, and for natural beauty in general. Besides time at the Willows, Eleanor enjoyed time with her family on Cobbett's Pond in New Hampshire because for Eleanor, family and friends were paramount in her life. She was a dedicated wife, mother, grandmother and friend who will be deeply missed.
In addition to her loving husband of 56 years, Eleanor is survived by her sons, David T. Brewster and his wife, Jeanne, of Beverly and Robert A. Brewster of Salem; her grandchildren, Alyssa and Justin Brewster; and several nieces and nephews. Eleanor was predeceased by her brother, Orill (Nibbs) Arens.
ARRANGEMENTS: Her funeral service will be held in The O'Donnell Funeral Home, 46 Washington Sq. (at Salem Common), Salem, Friday, April 26, at 1 p.m. Relatives and friends invited. Burial in Greenlawn Cemetery, Salem. Visiting hours Thursday, April 25, from 4 to 7 p.m. In lieu of flowers, expressions of sympathy may be made in Eleanor's memory to ALS TDI, 300 Technology Sq., Ste 400, Cambridge, MA 02139 or The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research, Grand Central Station, P.O. Box 4777, NY, NY 10163-4777. To share a memory or offer a condolence, please visit www.odonnellfuneralservice.com.

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Eleanor was the wife of my Dad's second cousin, David Brewster.  We shared a common ancestor, my great great grandfather Caleb Rand Bill (1833 - 1902),  a music professor in Salem and Beverly, Massachusetts.  Professor Bill had six daughters and three sons.  I descend from a daughter named Isabella Lyons Bill (1863 - 1935), and David descended from her sister Mary Ann (1861 - 1910).  All the sisters were musical, too.  David and his brother, Stuart, and I have been exchanging genealogical information on the Bill family for many years.

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Copyright 2013, Heather Wilkinson Rojo

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