Abigail Dunning Newbury Obituary

Abigail Dunning Newbury, 87, of Denver Colorado, passed away on Saturday, December 20, 2025.

Abbe was born in Lock Haven, Pennsylvania on February 24, 1938 to John (“Jack”) Hogan and Belle Hipple Furst. As a child, Abbe excelled in academics and art and loved the outdoors, passions which her parents nurtured.

She attended the College of William and Mary, completing an accelerated program that allowed her to earn her Bachelor’s and J.D. degrees in five years. Her first professional jobs were for the newly created Head Start program in its early years and as a management analyst for the Federal Bureau of Land Management.

In 1961, she married Stephen Gamble Dunning, an officer in the United States Army. In 1965, Stephen left the Army and the young couple moved to the Washington, D.C. area so that he could attend Georgetown Law School.

After her husband’s law school graduation, the family moved to Anchorage, Alaska and then purchased a home in Eagle River, Alaska. Abbe continued her legal career first at the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, then as a member of the Alaska Native Claims Appeal Board. In 1982, she returned to become Assistant District Counsel for the Alaska District of the Army Corps of Engineers. A few years later she was appointed Chief Counsel, finally retiring in 2002.

After Stephen’s unexpected death in 1991, Abbe was supported by a wonderful community of friends from her church, local community, and work. Six years later, she married Thomas (“Tom”) Newbury, an oceanographer working in Alaska. The two of them traveled extensively, visiting countries throughout the U.K. and Europe, South Korea, China, and Japan.

In retirement, Abbe immersed herself in volunteer work, travel, and spending time with her community of family and friends. For decades, she enjoyed hiking in Alaska and abroad with a group of friends who call themselves “the Hiking Ladies.” The Hiking Ladies traveled throughout Alaska, including taking backpacking trips on Kodiak Island. Abbe’s last trip with the group was a weeklong hike through the Scottish Highlands in 2019. She was an avid fisherwoman, whether spin casting, fly fishing, or dip netting salmon in Alaska streams, and she fondly remembered ocean kayaking trips to see whales in Mexico.

Abbe served as volunteer Chancellor for the Alaska Conference of the United Methodist Church and worked on the Board of Directors of Bean’s Café, a gathering place for unhoused people in Anchorage. She helped Bean’s Café start The Children’s Lunchbox, a program to provide nutritious food to children whose families face food insecurity. Through her love of painting and music, she also became a board member of the Eagle River Fine Arts Academy, a nonprofit art school based in the town where she lived. As a longtime member of Chugiak United Methodist Church, she served as a Trustee and was one of many who helped guide the church through a building program as it grew.

In 2016, Abbe and Tom moved to Denver, Colorado. A year after Tom’s passing in 2018, Abbe moved into Clermont Park Senior Living Community, where she lived until her death in December of 2025. At Clermont, she frequented exercise, Spanish, and painting classes, wrote articles for the newsletter, and was part of a group of gardeners who worked to beautify the Clermont grounds.

Abbe was preceded in death by her husband Stephen Gamble Dunning and her husband Thomas Newbury. She is survived by her son Andy Dunning and daughter-in-law Gayla Dunning; her son Ron Dunning; her stepsons Peter and Sam Newbury; her grandchildren Tyler Jensen, Anna Jensen, Heather Jensen and Heather’s husband Matt Crow; Troy Bennett and Troy’s husband Evan Turner; her great-grandchildren Aidan Crow and Thea Jensen; and a host of beloved friends and colleagues.

A memorial service will be held at University Park United Methodist Church (2180 S. University Blvd., Denver, CO 80210) at 10:00 A.M. on Monday, January 26. A reception will follow. Memorial gifts may be made to Bean’s Café (https://beanscafe.org/) or to University Park United Methodist Church (https://uparkdenver.com).