Priscilla Dustin

October 5, 1928 - April 7, 2019

COLEBROOK — Priscilla M. Dustin, 90, of Colebrook, passed away peacefully on Sunday morning, April 7, 2019, surrounded by her loving family in her home. Priscilla Margaret was born Oct. 5, 1928, to Ernest and Betsy (Wright) DesRosiers in the Lost Nation section of East Colebrook. She spent most of her early childhood in East Colebrook and attended school in the one-room schoolhouse on Harvey Swell Road. In her teen years, she was hired in downtown Colebrook as a “live-in” child care provider and housekeeper for many local families. While working for Roger and Abbie Dustin, she found her “happiness,” John Dustin, and they wed on Christmas Eve, 1949. The two continued to live in Colebrook where they had seven children of their own and raised two others. Priscilla held jobs in the kitchens of local restaurants, including the Country Club, the Colebrook House, the Colebrook Restaurant, and the Wilderness, to name a few, but her primary job and greatest joy was raising her family. When not at work, she could often be found spending time with her sister, Ernestine Gray, and late sister Val Gleason. They frequently spent time together at their houses, walking about town, or picking berries in the summer. She always gave tremendous support and devoted everything she had to the care of her children and helping them raise their families. Her home was always open to all and rarely did a day go by that her house was not filled with her grandchildren. On many a holiday it would seem as if half the town had gathered at her house, when in reality it was just her large family. She was there for every graduation, birthday, sporting event, or extracurricular activity event her family was involved in. Family was the keystone of her life, and to her family she was the keystone of theirs. She will be remembered for her constant ability to nurture her grandchildren and always making her house feel like a second home. She is survived by her sisters, Blanche Whitehill of Connecticut, Eleanor Knox of North Carolina, and Ernestine Gray of Colebrook; her children, Cynthia (Dennis) Kelley of Colebrook, Diana (James) Hutchinson of Colebrook, Jeffrey Dustin of Colebrook, Kathy Ratliff of Whitefield, NH, Barbara (Jules) Kennett of Colebrook, Deborah (Lloyd) Dustin of Colebrook, and Darlene (Jonathan) Fogg of Columbia, NH; along with 32 grandchildren and 25 great-grandchildren. Priscilla is preceded in death by her loving husband, John, her son, Daniel Dustin, and her grandson, Jared Kennett. There are no public calling hours. A graveside interment service will occur at 1 p.m. on Saturday, May 25, 2019, in the Colebrook Village Cemetery. Expressions of sympathy in Priscillas’s memory may be made to the American Heart Association, 2 Wall St., #104, Manchester, NH 03101. Condolences may be offered to the family on-line by going to www.jenkinsnewman.com. Funeral arrangements are under the direction of Jenkins & Newman Funeral Home, Colebrook, NH.