Obituary of Marianne Ellison

Marianne (Hessentahler) Ellison of Duxbury, Massachusetts, passed away peacefully at her home with family present on May 6, 2016. She was 97 years old, and wife of the late William P. Ellison. Marianne was born and raised in Chillicothe, Ohio, and came to Massachusetts to attend Wheaton College from which she graduated in 1940. She taught school at Rivers and Dedham Country Day, was married in 1942, and thereafter raised her family in Lexington, Massachusetts. That first marriage ended in divorce. In 1968 she married William P. Ellison and moved to Duxbury. Mr. Ellison died in 1988. Throughout her years in Duxbury she was an inspiration to all for the way she lived her life and for her contributions to the community. She was a passionate birder, an avid bridge player and sportswoman (golf, tennis, skiing, skeet shooting, and equestrian). She was a trustee of Manomet Center for Conservation Sciences and the Mass. Eye and Ear. She was the President of her class and active alumna of Wheaton College, and a long-time supporter of the Ellison Center for the Arts, the Duxbury Maritime School, Crossroads For Kids, Mass. General Hospital, as well as other charities. She was a member of the Duxbury Yacht Club, the Duxbury Garden Club, the Chilton Club, the Country Club (Brookline); and in the Florida: the Anglers Club, the Ocean Reef Club and Card Sound Club. She is survived by three of her four children (a fourth, Harriot, predeceased her): Anne Tcherepnin of Falmouth, Carole Christopher of Macon, Georgia, and John F. (Jeff) Palmer and his wife Kathy of Duxbury. Surviving grandchildren are Sarina, Nicholas, Stefan and Sergei Tcherepnin, Emily Palmer and Sarah Whipple, and Robbie Knipp and Ashley Palmer. Great grandchildren include: Alexander and Ben Morris, Peter and Clara Tcherepnin, and Tyler and Austin Hehir. In lieu of flowers donations may be sent to Manomet Center for Conservation Sciences, P.O. Box 1770, Manomet, MA 02345, in memory of Marianne Ellison. A memorial service will be held at St. John the Evangelist Episcopal Church in Duxbury on June 2, 2016, at 3:00 p.m.