Mary Lou (Stewart) Estabrook

SALISBURY — Mary Lou (Stewart) Estabrook, who was associate publisher and chief photographer of The Lakeville Journal from 1971 through 1986, died May 3, 2010, at Noble Horizons, at the age of 89. She was the wife of Robert H. Estabrook.

She was born Aug. 14, 1920, in Chicago, Ill., the daughter of Howard Alexander Stewart and Eva (Ross) Stewart, and grew up in Downers Grove, Ill., and Davenport, Iowa. A 1938 graduate of Downers Grove High School, she attended Monmouth College for two years until finances compelled her to withdraw.

While subsequently working in Iowa, she played flute in the Cedar Rapids Symphony Orchestra and there she met Bob Estabrook. They were married in Cedar Rapids on Dec. 22, 1942, when Bob was a new second lieutenant in the U.S. Army.

She accompanied him to posts in Little Rock, Ark., New Orleans, Lexington, Va., and briefly Recife, Brazil, at the end of World War II. In 1946 Bob joined The Washington Post and they lived in Arlington and Fairfax County, Va., for 15 years; London, England, for four years and Pelham, N. Y., for four years, before coming to Lakeville at the beginning of 1971. She traveled with Bob on some of his trips as a foreign correspondent.

In 1990, 50 years after leaving Monmouth College, Mary Lou completed her undergraduate education at Charter Oak College in Connecticut. She was awarded a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in photography with highest distinction.

Apart from her family and the newspaper, her two major interests were photography and music. Her scenic photographs had a regular spot on the editorial page of The Lakeville Journal and her pictures throughout the paper won many prizes. Her photographs accompanied Bob’s text about travels in The Lakeville Journal.

She published four scenic engagement calendars of scenes in the Tri-state corner and elsewhere in Connecticut, as well as postcards and notecards. She also exhibited works in many galleries. She liked to say that she looked at life through the lens of a camera.

She played flute and piccolo in the Torrington Symphony for 37 years and also played with the Salisbury Band for much of that period.

Mary Lou was an ardent hiker in the mountains. She was proud of having hiked down and then back up the Grand Canyon with Bob when she was 69.

After their retirement, Mary Lou and Bob made many foreign trips. They also traveled widely in the United States and Canada in their van camper and drove to Alaska and the Yukon twice. They kept a pleasure boat on Long Island Sound for 25 years.

She was a dedicated member of the Housatonic Camera Club and the Hawthorne Club, as well as a board member of Music Mountain. She attended many classes of the Taconic Learning Center.

In addition to her husband, she is survived by three sons, John Estabrook of East Canaan and his wife, Linda, James Estabrook of Herndon, Va., and his wife, Kathleen, and David Estabrook of Philadelphia, Pa.; a daughter, Margaret Carroll of Lynnfield, Mass. and her husband, William; a grandson, Patrick Carroll of Peabody, Mass.; three granddaughters, Dr. Harley Simeone of Boston, Mass., and her husband, Dr. F. Joseph Simeone, Abigail Carroll of Lynnfield, Mass., and Kimberly Estabrook of Herndon; a great-grandson, Benjamin Charles Simeone of Boston; and three nieces, Dr. Nancy Mills of San Antonio, Texas, Barbara Mills/Bria of Lakewood, Colo., and Dr. Sara Mills of Albuquerque, N.M.

A memorial service will be held on Friday, May 28, at 1 p.m. at the Salisbury Congregational Church, the Rev. Duane Estes officiating.

Arrangements are under the care of the Kenny Funeral Home in Sharon.

Memorial contributions may be sent to the Salisbury Volunteer Ambulance Service, PO Box 582, Salisbury, CT 06068.