Mildred Ruth Dunstan (née Zube), born April 23, 1932 in Brooklyn, New York, passed away on September 25, 2024 in Culpeper, Virginia. Her three loving children, Edmund Fleetwood Dunstan III “Woody,” Caroline Dunstan Smeltz, and Ethan Andrew Dunstan kept her company to the end. “Millie” was predeceased by her devoted husband, Edmund Fleetwood Dunstan, Jr. “Ted,” her parents Helen Filo Zube and Martin M. Zube, and her two sisters, Barbara and Helen. In addition to her children and their spouses, Augusta Harrison Dunstan, Ramon Augustus Smeltz, and Joanne Shirley Dunstan, Millie left behind four adoring grandchildren, Millicent Grace Dunstan (27), Guenevere Rose Dunstan (24), Andrew Fleetwood Dunstan (24), and Harrison Fleetwood Dunstan (18).

Millie graduated from Catholic School in Brooklyn, New York, where she “ran faster than all the boys.” After studies at Columbia and The New School in New York City, she met her husband Ted at Hanover Bank. Ted subsequently accepted a role at Morgan Guaranty Trust Company in their international department and posted to London where he and Millie married and spent ten years in England. Their children were all born in London. Millie also attended The Royal School Of Needlework while living there.

Upon their return to the United States, Millie and Ted opted to escape big city life for the green beauty and serene calm of Vermont where they spent one of their favorite chapters. Together they ran their small Montpelier-based furniture chain, “Nordecor” and established a boutique Morgan Horse farm, “Mildun Farms” in Waitsfield. At the age of fifty, Millie fought and won a tough and inspiring battle with cancer (she was a 42 year survivor!) just after moving to Charlottesville, Virginia. In Virginia, Millie was a renowned Interior Decorator with “The Second Yard,” sought after for significant private, public, and commercial design projects, including commissions on the University of Virginia “Lawn.”

Millie enjoyed a full life of world travel, gardening, cross-country skiing, knitting, and sewing. She was an active member of St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Parish, the Charlottesville Garden Club, and the Women’s Investment Club. She loved being the center of attention at every family gathering and lived each day to its fullest. She was the most wonderful mother and grandmother, and she deeply valued her close and lifelong friendships.

In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation in Mildred Dunstan’s name to either of the following non-profits:

Hospice of the Piedmont in Virginia

Botanical Garden of the Piedmont in Virginia

For more on services and to share your condolences, visit Hill and Wood Funeral Service.