Ione Dusinberre

Dusinberre—Ione Dusinberre, of Sandy Spring, Md., 89, on August 9, 2019, of age-related conditions. Ione was born on August 2, 1930, in Augusta, Maine, to Ann Hershey and Robert Dusinberre. Her father was a medical doctor in the U.S. Navy, retiring as a captain in the 1950s and then working at Pennsylvania State University. The family considered Wellsboro, Pa., to be their ancestral home, although Ione grew up in several places, including Washington, D.C., California, Philadelphia, Pa., and China, her family following her father’s deployments.

She studied music at University of Pennsylvania, where she met William George Ehrich, of Philadelphia. They married and had four children. While the marriage did not survive, Bill remained supportive of her and helped as he was able throughout her life. In the 1950s she felt led to be a Quaker and joined Haddonfield (N.J.) Meeting. Through her Quaker practice, she was active in promoting the Civil Rights Movement, nonviolence, peace, social justice, and the environment. She lived in Media, Pa.; Lima, Pa.; Boston, Mass.; and other places, and for a time she worked at Pendle Hill study center in Wallingford, Pa. In 1980 she joined the intentional Twin Oaks Community, in Louisa County, Va., and in 2005 she retired to Sandy Spring Retirement Community, where she was active in Sandy Spring (Md.) Meeting and continued her antiwar, civil rights, and pro-environment advocacy.

Everywhere she lived she made close friends who remember her as an empathetic, selfless, and warm spirit. Many have passed before her, and many were with her as she struggled in her last months, for which her family is grateful. A remembrance website is on Facebook under Ione Dusinberre.

Her sister, Ann Louise Dusinberre Huxter, who was an artist, died in her 30s. Ione is survived by her children, Louise Ehrich (Tom), Elizabeth Ehrich, William Edward Ehrich (Lori), and Kathryn Ehrich.

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