Mary Ellen Dunbar

Mary Ellen Dunbar passed away in Roswell, GA, on December 30, 2023. She was born in Pennsylvania on June 10, 1923, and this year celebrated her 100th birthday in the company of friends, family, and her cherished younger sister, Imogene Rink (age 94).

She attended Grove City College, where she met her late first husband and father of her two children, John Thomas Bohan. During World War II, Mary Ellen worked as a code breaker for the Federal Bureau of Investigation. After the war, she and John Thomas were married and lived in Maine and Chicago, before settling down in Sandy Springs, where they raised their children, Jill Shults and Cindy Morris.

Mary Ellen was a teacher and guidance counselor for forty years. She was beloved by her students, many of whom she was still in touch with at the time of her death. She spoke four languages, was an avid reader of both great literature and trashy paperbacks that she called her “beach reads,” and was a competitive bridge player who taught her grandchildren how to count cards. She was blessed with many friends with whom she traveled, lunched, and flirted with waiters for free dessert. She maintained beautiful gardens, both at her Sandy Springs home and her daughter’s windowsill at her Roswell home, where she lived for the final years of her life. She was very involved in the raising of her grandchildren, and they credit her for much of what they know about life. She did her crosswords in pen but did not hold her loved ones to the same standard of perfection. She remained open to new experiences and every joy life can bring through her final days. We were so lucky to know her.

She is preceded in death by her husbands John Thomas Bohan and Robert Dunbar. She is survived by her brother Bill Eakins and sister Imogene Rink; her daughters Jill Shults (Bill Shults) and Cindy Morris) (Gil Morris); and her six grandchildren, Anna Shults Held (Richard Held), John Shults, William Shults, Cameron Morris, Jack Morris, and Maggie Morris.

A memorial service will be held Friday, January 12, 2024 at 11 AM at HM Patterson & Son-Arlington Chapel, 173 Allen Road NE, Sandy Springs, GA 30328. Following the memorial service will be a committal service at Arlington Memorial Park, 201 Mount Vernon Highway, Sandy Springs, GA, 30328. A celebration of life will follow from 1 to 5 PM at The Mill Kitchen & Bar, 590 Mimosa Blvd, Roswell, GA 30075.