Elinor Y. Robie, 93, of Manchester, NH, passed away Saturday May 30, 2020, at Catholic Medical Center due to complications of the COVID-19 virus. Elinor was born in Plainfield, NJ, on August 9, 1926, daughter of the late Viggo and Theodora (Mathiasen) Yepsen. She was the youngest of three children. She graduated from Western High School, Washington, DC, in 1944. Following two years of study at Bradford Junior College in Bradford, MA, she received her Bachelor’s degree in English Literature from the University of Michigan in 1948.
Elinor was married for 59 years to John R. Robie, who died in 2011. She and John lived in Wilton, CT, for 34 years, raising two sons, David and Bradford. When they retired, they moved to Bradford, NH, where they resided for 18 years before moving to Hampstead, NH, in 2005. Elinor remained in Hampstead until 2017 when she moved to Birch Hill in Manchester, NH, where she resided up until her death.
As a young woman in New York City, Elinor booked photography sessions at Vogue Magazine before working as a receptionist at the advertising agency Young & Rubicam. After moving to Connecticut, she worked as a receptionist at two architectural firms including Nelson Breed and Irving and Jacob Architects before moving on to work at St. Luke’s School, where she remained until her retirement.
An outgoing person with a ready smile, Elinor will be remembered for her intellect and curiosity, love of family, quick wit and charm. As a friend wrote, “Elinor was incredibly humble and kind, but she had an extremely agile mind that she nurtured with an intellectual curiosity uncommon even in someone less than half her age. She had very deep political convictions, the vast majority of which focused on a desire to promote a more just society. She was as idealistic as a college freshman, yet clear-eyed about how the world really worked.”
Elinor was a busy woman. In addition to spending time with family and friends, she enjoyed listening to music, watercolor painting, reading, politics, bird watching, vacationing at Camp Danmark (the family camp in the Adirondacks her grandfather purchased in 1905), lunching at Robie’s Country Store, and attending organ concerts at the Methuen Memorial Music Hall. She was a member of P.E.O. (Philanthropic Educational Organization), Hampstead Congregational Church, and Friends of the Hampstead Public Library.
Elinor is survived by two sons, David R. and his wife Penny Anderson of Falls Church, VA, and Bradford H. and his wife Carol (Olsen) of Sandown, NH; five grandchildren, Travis Robie and his wife Tasha Clemmer of High Falls, NY; Lila (Anderson) Boland and her husband Michael Boland of Vienna, VA; Katherine (Robie) Rizzo and her husband Rene Rizzo of San Diego, CA; Jennifer (Robie) Oleson and her husband Tim Oleson of Chester, NH; and Dana E. Robie of Boston, MA; and seven great grandchildren, Hazel, Corbin, Florence and Lydia Boland; Isla Rizzo; and Hallie and Rae Robie. She also leaves many nieces and nephews. She was predeceased by her brother Roger B. Yepsen and sister Karla (Yepsen) Copithorn. Elinor became an “adopted” mom and grandmother for many who had lost their own.
A memorial service will be held at a later date when families can gather safely. Those who wish to remember Elinor by making a memorial contribution are kindly asked to consider P.E.O. (www.peointernational.org), Hampstead Congregational Church, Hampstead Public Library, and New Hampshire Audubon Society (www.nhaudubon.org).