Putney, Eleanor Estill Congdon

Eleanor Estill Congdon Putney, 95, died November 18, 2007 at the Kroontje Health Care Center in Blacksburg, Va.

She was a teacher, musician and traveler valued in her community for her charm, her positive outlook and her love of beauty.

Eleanor was born in Brooklyn to Edith Dana Jones and Dr. Edgar Davidson Congdon. They lived in Palo Alto, Calif. until 1922, when the family traveled to China where Dr. Congdon taught anatomy at Peking Union Medical College. Eleanor attended the American School and learned Mandarin. Later Dr. Congdon moved to Bangkok to teach at Sirirat Hospital. Eleanor traveled with her brother and mother to France where Eleanor studied French. After her mother’s death in 1931, Eleanor and her brother, Dana, moved with Dr. Congdon to New York.

Eleanor attended the Juilliard School of Music, Duke University, and the New England Conservatory before receiving her teaching degree from Buffalo State Teachers College. Eleanor taught first and second grade at Akron Central School, Akron, N.Y. for 17 years.

She was known for her gift for teaching slow students to read and introducing bright students to the wider world, and she continued teaching reading as a literacy volunteer after she retired. Her husband, Laverne Putney, died in 1976.

She is survived by three children, Zimri Putney and his wife, Tehila Selzer Putney, of Reston, Va., Estill Putney and her husband, Nic Tideman, of Blacksburg, Va. and Mary Jo Putney with her companion, John Rekus, of Baltimore. She is also survived by a daughterin-law, Marianne Rigdon Putney of Reston, Va.; a granddaughter, Karen Putney Iannella and her husband, Frank Iannella, of Brookfield, Conn.; and two great-granddaughters, Caroline and Marielle Iannella.

A memorial service is planned. Memorial gifts may be made to Christ Episcopal Church, P.O. Box 164, Blacksburg, Va. 24063. Arrangements by McCoy Funeral Home Blacksburg, Va.