Elizabeth Rose Sanders

She was born March 16, 1952, in Belleville, Illinois, to Dianne (Hubbard) Newell and Robert E. Sanders and grew up in various places in Ohio, Fayetteville NY, and Old Saybrook CT, where she graduated from high school.

She went on to get her bachelor’s degree in biology at Swarthmore College, masters in biostatistics at Temple University, and PhD in statistics at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. She used her statistical expertise working for the federal government until her retirement while living in Maryland. After retiring, she moved to Cape Cod, a place she had always loved for its lighthouses and proximity to the ocean.

Wherever she lived, she filled her life with her beloved cats and dogs, music (especially singing in chorales), gardening, reading, and needlework. In addition to singing, she played violin, including in the Connecticut all-state orchestra, and guitar. Her competitive spirit showed in her love of card and board games, particularly bridge. She also joined a trivia group on Cape Cod. She was an avid swimmer, played varsity volleyball at Swarthmore, and loved going for walks with her dog and for bike rides.

She is survived by her son, Benjamin Hoch, with whom she was very close, texting or calling nearly daily. She is also survived by her stepmother Alice Letteny of New Mexico; sister Martha Rice Sanders of Massachusetts; brother George Sanders of Arkansas; several nieces and nephews; and former husband, David Bressoud. Her parents and her former partner, Robert Hoch, predeceased her.

Ben and Martha are planning a gathering on Cape Cod this spring so her friends and family may remember her together in community.

Donations may be made in her a name to Monadnock Kitty Rescue & Adoption (https://kittyrescuenh.org/) or the American Diabetes Association (https://diabetes.org/).