Eleanor Armistead "Bunny" Knipp, a nature lover, died of complications from dementia Jan. 28 at Broadmead Retirement Community. The former Gibson Island resident was 89.
Born Eleanor Bowles Armistead in Staunton, Va., she was the daughter of Mary Caperton Armistead and Robert Morris Armistead of R. M. Armistead Investments. She was a 1943 graduate of Stuart Hall School and received a bachelor's degree from Mary Baldwin College. She then attended the Johns Hopkins University, where she earned a master's degree in hygiene and public health.
While at Hopkins, she met her future husband, Howard Franklin Knipp Jr., who owned an architectural millwork firm. After their 1955 marriage, they lived in Bolton Hill before moving to Gibson Island in 1958, where they raised four sons. They moved to Broadmead in 2004.
"Bunny was a gifted athlete and fierce competitor," said a son, Robert Morris Knipp of White Hall.
She was a member of the National Audubon Society and was "a passionate bird-watcher and gardener," her son said.
Mrs. Knipp started an outreach program at St. Christopher's by the Sea and collected clothing for Paul's Place. She also volunteered for other organizations, including the Chesapeake Bay Foundation.
A memorial service will be held at 1:30 p.m. Saturday at Broadmead, 13801 York Road in Cockeysville.
In addition to her son, Mrs. Knipp is survived by her husband of 59 years; three other sons, Howard Franklin Knipp III of Baltimore, Carter Braxton Knipp of Cockeysville and Peter Armistead Knipp of Stratford, Conn.; 10 grandchildren; and two step-grandchildren.
—Jacques Kelly