Alison H. Dunscomb

Born in Scarborough, New York, she lived and played on the Harden’s Wilderness estate as a child then moved briefly with her grandparents to their new home in Palos Verdes, California. Later she resided with the Vanderlip family at Beechwood. Alison was a graduate of Scarborough Day School where she made several lifelong friends, including Robert Maxwell Dunscomb whom she married in 1960. Bob and Alison moved to Ossining where they raised two sons and a daughter.

Alison chafed at being a stay-at-home mother and found outlets for her energy and desire for connection in volunteering. She was very active in the leadership of the (then) Boy Scouts of America, serving as District Commissioner. In the late 1970’s she became one of the first women to complete Wood Badge, a rigorous leadership course for Scouting Leaders. Around that time, she also began volunteering for the Ossining Volunteer Ambulance Corps. She logged over 100 hours a year over more than 15 years of volunteering and was one of the first OVAC members to be trained as an Advanced Emergency Medical Technician. Alison was a member of Scarborough Presbyterian Church, where she served as Deacon, Elder and choir member.

A graduate of Katharine Gibbs School, Alison worked as a secretary for many years. Her last and favorite job was with the Professional Indemnity Agency where she was promoted to underwriter for kidnapping and ransom insurance. In 2007, she retired and moved to Charlottesville, VA to be near her daughter and grandchildren.

Alison loved books, gardens, history, cats and folk and classical music. She was an avid sports fan, cheering on her Yankees, Rangers, Knicks and Giants through thick and thin. Above all she loved her family. An only child whose parents passed away early in her life, Alison was deeply attached to her mother-in-law Myrtle Maxwell Roberts, her brother-in-law Paul A. Dunscomb and sister-in-law Lois Anne O’Connell. She is preceded in death by her parents Walker Harden and Kathleen Sharp Harden, her former husband Bob, and her sons Robert “Bobby” Harden Dunscomb and Paul Edward Dunscomb. She is survived by her daughter Judy, her grandchildren Elizabeth Lohnes and Robert and Andrew Stetkevych, her great-grandsons Caedmon and Asher, and numerous cousins.

A memorial celebrating her remarkable life will be held at Westminster Presbyterian Church in Charlottesville Virginia at 2 p.m. on Saturday, September 27, 2025.