Dorothy “Dorrie” Wynkoop Bean, 91, passed away at Emerson Hospital in Concord, Massachusetts on June 16, 2023. Dorrie was born on March 23, 1932 to Dorothy (Puffer) Ernst and Clayton Ernst in Newton, Massachusetts.
She described herself as a lifelong New Englander, having grown up in Wellesley, Massachusetts and then moving to Concord in 1958, where she lived for the rest of her life. Dorrie graduated from Colby Jr. College in 1951 and married Clifford (Bump) Bean in 1954. Bump and Dorrie went right to work and had four daughters within four years: Meredith, twins Deborah and Cathryn, and Julia. They raised their daughters in a big old Victorian home on the Concord River.
Dorrie loved hiking in the White Mountains. She taught her girls how to ski and had many happy years at Sunapee Ski resort and Hodge Podge Lodge with family friends. She was also an accomplished seamstress and taught her daughters how to sew their own clothes.
Dorrie was a world traveler, but her favorite place in the world was her beloved family camp on Bear Island, Lake Winnipesaukee, where she spent every summer of her life.
She was actively involved with many community nonprofits, dedicating countless hours of her life to 51 Walden (formerly FOPAC) over 50 years and the Concord-Carlisle Scholarship Fund over 31 years. She worked for 17 years in geriatrics for the Concord Family Service.
Dorrie was predeceased by her husband Clifford Bean, her daughters Cathryn and Deborah, and her sister Eleanor Thompson. She is survived by her daughters Meredith Eley, and husband Donald of Blue Hill, Maine, Julia Bean and her partner Steve Lawrence of Dover, New Hampshire, and “adopted son” Elias Towe of Pittsburg, Pennsylvania; grandchildren Chris McClellan, Conor Sass, Kate Mick, Samuel Eley and Benjamin Eley; great-grandson Sawyer McClellan; nieces Pam, Emily and Holly Thompson, nephew Bill Thompson, and her loving care-giver Maria Almeida.
Relatives and friends are invited to a celebration of Dorrie’s life at 51 Walden in Concord, Massachusetts on Saturday, September 9th, from 2:00 to 5:00 pm.
Memorial gifts in her honor can be made to: 51 Walden Inc., PO Box 251, Concord, MA 01742; or the Scholarship Fund of Concord and Carlisle/Bean Family Scholarship, 34 Walden Street, Unit 217, Concord, MA 01742.
Arrangements are entrusted to Dee Funeral Home & Cremation Service of Concord. For Dorrie’s full obituary and online guestbook, visit www.DeeFuneralHome.com.
