Eleanor L. Dulong LANGDON, NH — On Saturday, November 19th, 2022, Eleanor Louise Dulong, a loving mother, grandmother, great grandmother, aunt, great aunt, great great aunt, great great great aunt, godmother, and friend passed away peacefully at her home, as she had dearly wanted. She was just one week shy of 92 years of age. Eleanor was born to Beatrice Amelia Victoria Whiteacre French and Leonard Austin French on Thanksgiving Day, November 26,1930 at her family home in Melrose, Mass. She loved telling the story of how her older sister, Anna, who was 13, had to cook her first turkey dinner for her siblings that day!
She was raised in Melrose, graduated from Melrose High School in 1949 and worked a short stint in Boston after high school. On March 28,1951, she married Elvin LeRoy Brown of Wakefield, Mass. Then an Air Force wife, she moved to Mississippi and onto Dover, Delaware until moving back to Wakefield in 1953. She was a stay-at-home wife, mother and business manager for several years, as she helped her husband Al, establish Emerald Radio and TV with a Zenith Franchise. Shortly after, they bought their home at 19 Centre St. and moved the business into the basement of their residence near downtown Wakefield, Mass.
After a divorce in 1968, she relocated to Langdon, N.H. and Townsend, Mass., eventually returning to her lovely farmhouse in Langdon. After a short stint as a phone operator at Holmes Transportation of Bellows Falls, Vt., and some part time jobs as a resturant host, she worked at Littleton and Connecticut River Banks as teller, head teller, and statement preparer for many, many years. She fell in 2017, becoming a quadriplegic and managed to live out her final years in her home with the assistance of her daughter Cheryl, son Roy and some very helpful personal caregivers.
She loved to remember her friends and family with thoughtful gifts and cards. She was an avid knitter, crocheter and quilter. She loved making doilies, baby blankets and sweaters,and afghans for her friends and family members. She participated on candlepin bowling teams in Wakefield and Littleton, Mass., Springfield, Vt., and Claremont and Newport N.H. off and on throughout her adulthood right up until her accident at the age of 86! She loved entertaining and hosting holiday celebrations for family and parties for her coworkers and friends. She enjoyed quiet nearby camping trips and traveling across the country with her husband Kenny. After Ken’s death, she and her companion Don Nelson, were active members of the Senior Citizen Community of Charlestown, N.H. She loved to dance and attend country western dances and her son Roy’s many popular rock bands! Last of all she enjoyed attending her descendant’s school and sport activities!
She leaves behind her daughter, Cheryl B. Amsden (and husband Wayne) of Langdon; her son, Roy A. Brown of Bellows Fall Vt.; her stepson William L. Dulong (and significant other Sherrill Bachner) of Laconia, NH; her stepdaughters Elizabeth D. Meere (and husband Jack) of Salem, Mass. and Louise D. Cheeney of Westminster Vt. She is also survived by several grandchildren and their families of nearby surrounding communities: Jeffrey D. Cheeney, Andrea C. Jaques, Codi Merlin Amsden and Madison Amsden, Nick and Cassie Clark,Tyler Kropp and Jackson Brown, Kenneth and Zachary Dulong, and Joshua Cheeney.
She was predeceased by her parents, Leonard A. French and Beatrice A.V. Whiteacre French; her siblings, Samuel French, Beatrice F. Walsh, William French, Charles French, and Anna M. Davis; her husbands, Elvin LeRoy Brown, Melbourn Quinn and Kenneth Henry Dulong; her significant other, Donald Nelson; her stepson David Dulong; and her grandaughter Desiree Sheppard.
A Celebration of Life Service will be held on Saturday, December 3, 2022, at 11:00 a.m. in the Langdon Congregational Church on 130 Village Rd. A brief interment will follow at the Lower Langdon Cemetery on Cemetery Rd. A Reception will be held at The Baker Building, Community Room, 122 State Highway 12A. Those preferring to skip the burial are welcome to wait for us at the reception hall.
In lieu of flowers you may make a donation in her memory to the Langdon Church Restoration Fund. Checks can be mailed to the church treasurer, Tina Woodell Christie, 85 Jewett Rd., Langdon, NH 03602. Please see https://www.nhpreservation.org/blog/seven-to-save-langdon-congregational-church to learn more about the church restoration project!
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