Eliza Kellogg Klose

Eliza Kellogg Klose

SHARON — Eliza Kellogg Klose, died on June 12, 2024, at Noble Horizons after a long battle with dementia. She was 83 years old.

Eliza attended Potomac School in McLean, Virginia, acquiring her love of music both from her conservatory-trained mother, Celina Robbins Kellogg, and also from her Potomac school days with music teacher John Langstaff, with whom she later performed in Spring and Christmas Revels productions in Washington, DC (1974) and Hanover, New Hampshire (1982).

Eliza graduated from Milton Academy in Milton, Massachusetts, where she was valedictorian of the Class of 1958, and Radcliffe College in Cambridge, Massachusetts, earning a BA in English Literature, Summa Cum Laude, Phi Beta Kappa, 1962.

After college, Eliza taught English at Bard College in Red Hook, New York, and at schools in Washington DC before marrying Kevin Klose in 1964. As mother of Cornelia (Nina, 1967), Kevin Brennan (Brennan, 1968) and Chandler (1972), she studied towards a Master’s in Early Childhood Education, as well as participating in progressive movements such as early efforts at racial integration and community participation through Columbia Road Children’s Center, the Community Playgroup movement, natural birth, and La Leche League. She taught creative music and movement at Columbia Road and also in the Six School Complex when her children joined one of the 6 schools, Horace Mann.

When husband Kevin was appointed Moscow Bureau Chief for The Washington Post in 1977-1981, Eliza learned Russian fluently, and became a guiding light for the family in navigating the challenges of life in the USSR. She helped Kevin conduct interviews (he hadn’t learned the language nearly as well) and supported the three kids in attending Soviet schools and learning fluent Russian. Both Eliza and Kevin became fascinated by the Soviet Dissident movement, coming to know and support the families of Dmitri Sakharov and Elena Bonner, Lidia Chukovskaya, Lev Kopelev, Vasily Aksyonov, Vladimir Voinovich, the Donetsk, Ukraine coal miner activist Alexei Nikitin and many others from the Soviet intelligentsia.

From Moscow, the family moved to Pomfret, Vermont, for two years while Kevin wrote an account of the Soviet dissident movement, and then to Chicago for four, during Kevin’s stint as Midwest & Canada Bureau Chief for the Post. During this time Eliza translated and published works by activist and writer Lidia Chukovskaya, and also taught writing at Midwest Talent Search, Northwestern University’s program for gifted youth.

Back in Washington, DC in 1989, Eliza joined and later became Executive Director of the small non-profit, the Institute for Soviet-American Relations (ISAR). As the Iron Curtain opened, ISAR expanded from public diplomacy efforts as a clearinghouse for Soviet-American civilian exchange to making seed grants to a wide network of NGOs within the former USSR. Under Eliza’s leadership, ISAR distributed over $15m in USAID funding to support citizen environmental groups through nine offices from Moscow to Almaty, Kyiv, Tbilisi and Baku.

Eliza divorced Kevin in 2006, the same year she retired from ISAR. Three years later she moved to Sharon, to marry Harding Bancroft. After retiring from ISAR she sat on the board of the International Crane Foundation, traveling in the Russian and Asian Far East to learn about and support the Foundation’s conservation work to preserve endangered crane populations. In Sharon, besides creating and maintaining an extensive garden, Eliza joined and then co-chaired the Sharon Garden Club, Sharon Women’s Club, and volunteered at the Sharon Historical Society. Eliza and Harding travelled extensively, enjoying tours in Europe, Former USSR, Egypt, Jordan, Norwegian fjords, the Galapagos, and glaciers in Tierra del Fuego.

Eliza battled dementia for eight years; in 2022, she and Harding moved to Noble Horizons. Throughout her battle with dementia, Eliza continued to astound and touch us all with her grace and acceptance of her condition. She received the skilled and devoted care of the team at Noble Horizons. Until her final hours, though she could no longer speak or move her body, she was able to communicate her love and gentle spirit with all who knew her.

She is mourned by her husband, Harding Bancroft, her children, Nina Klose (London, England); Brennan Klose (Washington, DC); and Chandler Klose (Northampton, Massachusetts); eight grandchildren and four great-grandchildren, as well as four stepchildren, eight step-grandchildren, and many other loving family and friends.

Latest News

Amenia board honors employees for service

Long-term town employees were recognized at the Town Board meeting on Thursday, June 12. Honorees pictured with Town Supervisor Leo Blackman, were Judy Carlson, Office Manager at the Town Garage, center, for her 35 years of service to the town and Megan Chamberlin, current Highway Superintendent, for 20 years.

Leila Hawken

AMENIA — Acknowledging the many years of service accumulated by town employees, the Town Board paused to honor that service at its meeting on Thursday, June 12.

“Thank you for making a difference,” said Town Supervisor Leo Blackman in recognizing Judy Carlson, Office Manager at the town garage, for her 35 years of service.

Keep ReadingShow less
Historic marker dedicated at Amenia Union Cemetery

In anticipation of the celebration of the 250th anniversary of the start of the American Revolution in 2026, new historic markers are appearing at each of the local cemeteries where Revolutionary War veterans are buried. Unveiling the new marker at Amenia Union Cemetery on Saturday, June 21, were left to right, Town Historian Betsy Strauss, Jim Middlebrook representing the regional chapter of the Sons of the American Revolution, and Gail Seymour, President of the Union Cemetery Association.

Photo by Leila Hawken

AMENIA — One by one, new historic markers are appearing at local cemeteries where Revolutionary War dead are buried. On Saturday, June 21, community members gathered to see a new marker unveiled at Amenia Union Cemetery on Leedsville Road.

A tent provided welcome shade for the attendees and refreshments as about 30 residents gathered for the unveiling and to share stories of local history with one another.

Keep ReadingShow less
Millerton Street Fair celebration June 28

Bee Bee the clown, face painters and a community wide scavenger hunt are among the activities planned for the Millerton Street Fair in Downtown Millerton on Saturday, June 28.

Photo by Aly Morrissey

MILLERTON — The Millerton News, in partnership with the North East Community Center (NECC) and the Millerton Business Alliance, is hosting its first Street Fair on Saturday in a celebration of the town.

Rain or shine from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m, the fair will bring together local nonprofits and businesses, with live music, entertainment, kids’ activities, local eats, and family fun in Veterans Park, in front of the Millerton Inn, and beyond.

Keep ReadingShow less
Millbrook Historical Society announces summer Quaker lecture series

The Nine Partners Road Quaker Meetinghouse, built in 1780, will be the site of two summer lectures sponsored by the Millbrook Historical Society.

Photo by Leila Hawken

MILLBROOK — Long in the planning, the Millbrook Historical Society has announced that it is sponsoring two lectures in observance of the 250th anniversary of the American Revolution. Both lectures relating to Quaker history are to be held in the historic Quaker Meeting House on Nine Partners Road.

For the first talk, scheduled for Sunday, June 29, at 2 p.m., the historical society has invited Sarah Gronningsater, Professor of History at the University of Pennsylvania, to talk on “Quakers, Anti-slavery, and the American Revolution.” The topic will explore the role that New York’s Quakers, especially in the Hudson Valley, played in the rise of the anti-slavery movement that followed the American Revolution.

Keep ReadingShow less