WESTBROOK – When Eleanor Conant Saunders gave up driving around her 80th birthday, her close friend, Suzan Norton, drove Saunders to the Westbrook Historical Society each week, and the pair would take detours to various yard sales around town.

“We showed up late on occasion, but this was because we were having fun driving around Westbrook going to yard sales,” Norton recalled Monday.

Norton said she remembers Saunders asking her to forgive her for being a “front-seat driver.”

“I said that was fine because she knew Westbrook better than I did,” she said.

Saunders, 94, who died Nov. 22 at her Conant Street home – the same home in which she was born in 1920 – is being remembered by friends this week for her dedication to Westbrook and its history.

Saunders was the wife of the late Westbrook mayor, Donald Saunders, and her ancestors were known to be among the first permanent settlers in the city. Brothers Joseph and Samuel Conant are credited with operating Westbrook’s first saw and grist mills. They came from Massachusetts and built a sawmill in 1729.

Saunders, known by everyone as “Ellie,” was heavily involved in the community and was the founder and one-time director of the Westbrook Historical Society. She also maintained a large private collection of historical items at her home and was instrumental in sponsoring the Whitney Rose Garden.

She was honored as the grand marshal of the Westbrook Together Days Parade in 2007.

According to an obituary posted by Blais & Hay Funeral Home, private services will be held, with interment in the Conant Burying Grounds. Saunders had just recently arranged to have the city take over care of the historic cemetery, which will be open to the public.

Throughout her years of community involvement, people took notice of Saunders’ caring but committed personality. Just a few weeks before her death, she sat in Westbrook’s City Council chambers, making sure the transfer of her cemetery property was approved.

Working with Saunders on the cemetery project was Arty Ledoux, the city’s deputy director of public services. Ledoux had previously worked with Saunders on the Whitney Rose Garden project, and on Monday, recalled his interactions with Saunders.

“Ellie was very passionate about her projects, and she always honored her commitments,” he said.

Ledoux said that with both the rose garden and cemetery projects, he and Saunders spent time at her kitchen table “ironing out details.”

“She kept very copious notes, and she would remind me of conversations that took place years ago. I enjoyed that about her,” he said. “One of the things I admired about her the most was that she was a strong advocate for transparency and a very ethical person. It was very important to her that we completed the transfer of the Conant cemetery prior to the sealing of the (bicentennial) time capsule. I am happy that we were able to get this done before her passing. She will be missed.”

City Councilor Mike Sanphy, who is also the president of the Westbrook Historical Society, was a longtime friend of Saunders. He worked closely with her on the establishment of the society’s current location at the Westbrook Community Center, where Saunders performed the ribbon cutting in 2012.

“Ellie Saunders was a good friend and a great historian, an inspiration to myself and others in the research and preservation of Westbrook history,” Sanphy said Saturday after hearing of her death. “I will certainly miss the interesting stories and anecdotes she was always willing to share.”

During holidays, Norton said, it was always evident how much Saunders loved life and people.

“Her table was filled with so many cards. She kept in touch with people who were shut-ins, friends from long ago who lived out of state, people who were sick at home, or in rehab or a hospital, and people from church,” she said. “She was amazing because she truly cared about people. Ellie was genuine, nothing fake about her.”

Diane Dyer, a friend who volunteered alongside Saunders at the historical society, said Monday that Saunders was “a real lady.” Dyer, 78, has been volunteering there for over a decade.

“She was just a kind person, she really was,” she said.

On Monday, Mayor Colleen Hilton said that one of her first hand-written correspondences from a constituent after taking office came from Ellie Saunders.

“In the years that I have been the mayor of Westbrook, Ellie would occasionally drop me a handwritten note to encourage me, or to offer me some advice on a particular matter,” she said. “In all my interactions with Ellie I found her to be a warm, committed person who was so fond of Westbrook in a way that few are.”

Hilton said the Westbrook community will miss her.

“She could teach us so much about the rich history of Westbrook as only a lifelong resident can do,” she said. “I’m glad she was able to achieve her wish of passing in her beloved home.”

A Celebration of Life will take place at a later date. Online condolences can be expressed at www.blaisandhayfuneralhome.com.

Eleanor Conant