Obituary: Eleanor Eugenie Banyard, 99, Of Westport

The following obituary is from Harding Funeral Home:

Eleanor Eugenie Banyard died on April 21, 2024 at the Notre Dame Nursing Home in West Norwalk CT at the age of 99.

Ellie was the first child of Joseph DePalmer and Antoinette Eleanor Gilbertie DePalmer. She was born in the same house where her mother was born, the home on Franklin Street in Saugatuck where her grandparents had lived since they were newly-weds.

A lifelong resident of Westport, she attended Saugatuck School where she remembered Miss Coyle as her favorite teacher. She later graduated from Norwalk High School.

In early 1953, she met and married Joseph Banyard, Jr., a cost accountant for the US Government. Together they purchased land on Lyons Plains Rd and worked together to build a home there. Ellie would live in that beloved home for 70 years. Although their marriage ended in divorce, Ellie and Joe remained close friends until his passing in 2021.

Ellie first worked as a bookkeeper then a teller at the Westport Bank and Trust, eventually working her way through the ranks to Senior Vice President and Corporate Secretary. For many years she was an active member of the American Society of Corporate Secretaries, and participated in many professional development courses, also earning a Certificate in International Banking. She finally completed her long and distinguished banking career, retiring after 47 years of service to the bank.

From childhood, Ellie showed an innate artistic talent which was a wonderful dimension in her long life and was of great satisfaction to her. She had early drawing and painting studies at the Silvermine Guild Art Studios and later took classes with well know local artists including Ann Toulmin Roth, Robert Baxter, Tom Loval, George Passantino, Frank Covino, and Stanley Blaifield (sculptor.) She leveraged this skill in her retirement, when she was able to spend more time painting and gardening, as well as caring for her mother in her later years until her passing in 2000.

Ellie is also predeceased by her brother, Anthony Joseph DePalmer, her sister, Dolores “Honey” Karl, who died 3 days prior to Ellie at the age of 95. She is survived by her sister-in-law, Judy DePalmer of Citra, FL and by many nieces and nephews whom she loved and spoiled, and their children, who were able to know and love Auntie El thanks to her longevity. At her passing, she was the senior member of both the DePalmer and Gilbertie cousins.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at St. Francis of Assisi Church in Weston on May 21 at 11am. In lieu of flowers donations can be made in her name to Notre Dame Nursing and Rehabilitation 76 W. Rocks Road Norwalk, CT 06851 or on line at www.ndrehab.org who provided her with superb care the last year of her life. The Harding Funeral Home in Westport, CT is assisting the family with the arrangements. Condolences for the family may be left on line at www.hardingfuneral.com