Merrilyn Elnora Thompson Stanbro
Merrilyn Elnora Thompson Stanbro, a former employee of Thompson’s Drugstore in Kent, died June 28, 2023 in Monroe, NC.
Stanbro was born in Kent, Ohio on September 11, 1931, the daughter of Elnora C. Thompson and Merrill Thompson, former owner of Thompson’s Drugstore in Kent.
She grew up in Kent, Ohio. Even in her later years with dementia she could remember living in Kent, being part of that close-knit community and working the soda fountain in her father’s drugstore (Thompson’s).
Jim Myers, who later owned the drugstore, said he remembers Stanbro as a good friend.
She graduated from Miami University in Oxford Ohio and went on to work as a laboratory technologist at University Hospitals in Cleveland. In Cleveland she met Frederick Stanbro and they married in 1957. The couple moved to Mentor, where their daughter, Elizabeth Cameron Stanbro, was born two years later. In 1961, their son, Frederick Reed Stanbro was born.
The family lived for many years in Mentor, where Merrilyn was active in her church (St. Andrews Episcopal) on the altar guild and in the quilter’s group. She was a master quilter both technically and artistically, combining patterns and color with great skill, and left many treasured quilts for her family.
Stanbro was also a volunteer at the Holden Arboretum, making jellies they sold in the gift shop. For 15 years Merrilyn worked in the lab at Lake County Hospitals, retiring in 1994 to devote her time to travel, family, friends and her quilting.
She is survived by her daughter, Elizabeth Stanbro of Colorado Springs; her son, Reed Stanbro of Charlotte NC; her grandchildren Celeste Edwards, Noah Burnham, Grace Jones, Maggie Thuan; step grandson, Mike Stacey; and great grandchildren Clifton Jones and Nora Jones.
In lieu of flowers donations may be made to The Mentor Public Library, The Holden Arboretum, The Lake Humane Society, or Opening Minds Through Art, a program for people with dementia developed at Merrilyn’s alma mater: [email protected]
Online condolences may be made at www.gordonfuneralservice.com.
Father Merrill Thompson was part owner of Thompson’s Drugstore from the 1920s until he died in the 1950s.
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