Ellen Barnett ... longtime private practice therapist; at 77

DOVER - Ellen H. Barnett, 77, of Dover died peacefully on Nov. 11, 2024, at Hyder Family Hospice House with her wife, Ely, by her side after a battle with cancer..

She was born Ellen Joan Harrison on Oct 8, 1947, to Stanley and Miriam (Ferber) Harrison in Brooklyn and grew up in Flushing, Queens. New York. An advanced student, she graduated high school at age 16. At the University of Wisconsin-Madison, she studied psychology and experienced her political awakening when confronted by an armed soldier during an anti-war protest.

On graduating, Ellen moved to Boston to earn her doctorate in psychological counseling at Boston University. Her doctoral research focused on women's empowerment. At the University of New Hampshire in the 1970s, she directed Disadvantaged Women for Higher Education, a federal program--to help women succeed in college and later life.

In 1989 Ellen began a private practice and over her more than 30 years as a therapist helped people of all ages find their way forward. Many clients sent Ellen notes of gratitude throughout her career and during her retirement.

A tireless gardener, Ellen spent hours creating and tending the many small gardens she created on her quarter-acre of Dover.

A small but fierce woman, she was unafraid of difficult conversations. She questioned injustices, bigotry, and sheer wrong-headedness. In her own words, Ellen was "the last person to jump on a bandwagon." People knew they could count on her to be honest: she always told her truth as she understood it. She made lifelong friends with many wonderful and devoted people.

She is survived by her wife of 30 years, Elizabeth Goldman, her son Benjamin Harrison Clark and son-in-law Matt Virgile, her stepsons Gabriel Clary and Jacob Clary, her grandchildren, Emma and Finn Clary, her sister and brother-in-law Nancy and Jerry Kolodny, and her first husband Brian Barnett. She was predeceased by her former husband R. Wayne Clark.