Eleanor I. Gavin

1939 - 2021

Eleanor "Ellie" Bell Ingram Gavin passed away in Eugene Oregon on August 29 at the age of 81. Ellie was born on November 12, 1939 in Boston to Capt. Henry Allison Ingram and Helen Pfaltz Ingram. Her father's various Navy posts moved their family across the country twice, settling in Hingham MA. There she attended Hingham High School, sailed competitively with her sister, Allison, and graduated from Northfield Mount Hermon in 1957. While visiting Europe with her parents in 1959, Ellie decided to enter the La Source School of Nursing, in Lausanne, Switzerland, from which she graduated in April 1963. Ellie and Paul H. Gavin, who she met in the Choir of the Lausanne Cathedral, where they both sang, were married in May 1963. Ellie loved "beautiful Switzerland." During her seven years there she enjoyed the Alps, musical concerts, and closely knit friends and family. Ellie and Paul moved to Connecticut in 1966, where they raised three sons. In those years she enjoyed gardening, teaching her sons how to ski in their small backyard, making jelly using crabapples from the tree in the front yard and grapes from the hillside, singing with Paul in church choirs, managing music lessons for her sons, and travelling around the northeast to cheer on her sons in their rowing events. She modeled a strong work ethic, an appreciation for the arts and the natural world, and a project-filled, active life. She valued opportunities to help others, and sought them out. She worked as a Registered Nurse, volunteered as a life-skills assistant to Hmong (Laotian) refugees, and volunteered in the Hartford Courts as a French (Creole) translator for Haitian immigrants. She studied Chemistry at Trinity College Hartford and at the University of Connecticut where she developed a strong interest in the geology of the northeast and earned a BS degree. In the 1980's she worked tirelessly for the nuclear weapons freeze campaign and led the nuclear weapons freeze organization in Simsbury CT. This work led to work supporting nuclear disarmament NGO's at the United Nations, and preparing extensive English-French translations on the topic for French-speaking diplomats. As her sons left for college, she and Paul opened their home to people starting new lives in the USA. In 2002, Ellie and Paul retired to a home they designed and built with their sons in northeastern Vermont. There she continued to garden, sail, and appreciate the seasons and beauty of northern New England. She was active with the Northwoods Stewardship Center and the Derby Line Unitarian Universalist Church. She was very active in the New England Coalition on Nuclear Pollution's successful grass-roots movement to close the Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant. Following the passing of Paul in 2017, she remained at home in Vermont for another year, supported in her progressing dementia by compassionate caregivers. In 2018, she moved to residential memory care close to her son in Eugene OR. The family is extremely grateful to the staff of Love Is in Craftsbury VT and Quail Crest in Eugene. Ellie is remembered as a fine friend, and a valiant woman who always fought for what she believed in. She is survived by her sons Henri (Robin Magee) of Durham NC, Marc (Gwyneth McConnell) of Seattle WA, and Daniel (Melanie Konradi) of Eugene OR, and grandchildren Benjamin, Eric, Meredith, Ingrith, and Leo Gavin, siblings John Ingram (Tamar Gisis) of New York NY, and Allison David of FL, nieces Caroline Hillkirk, Katherine Schexneider, and Lise Rosenthal, and nephews Mattan Ingram, Miles Ingram, and Stewart Ingram. She is predeceased by husband Paul Gavin, brother Victor Ingram, nephews Hank Ingram and Geoffrey Herbert, and niece Aviva Rosenthal. A life celebration is being planned for October 16 in East Charleston, VT.