We lost Augusta over the weekend. She was a great encouragement and supporter of what we do here as well as the efforts of so many around New Hampshire. Augusta always made me feel welcome, special, and essential, and she was generous beyond understanding to so many people and causes in New Hampshire and beyond. She will be missed.
Augusta Gurney de Bunsen Henderson, 88, passed away peacefully in her home, on Friday, August 1, 2025, surrounded by her beloved family.
Augusta was born at Mt. Auburn Hospital in Cambridge, MA on 10 March 1937. She graduated with a BA in Government from Smith College, married then-Major Joseph C. Petrone, and served with him in Fontainebleau, France, Ft. Hood, TX, Seoul, South Korea, the Paris Embassy (as Military Attache) and later as Reagan Ambassador to the UN in Geneva, Switzerland.
She had earned a Dioplome at the Sorbonne in Paris, and taught English in Washington, DC., and in Seoul, and had also taught French at the Marshalltown, Iowa Community College.
In 1976, Joseph, a veteran of WWII under General Patton, retired for a second time and the couple moved to Dublin, NH, where they were involved in musical and political events in their home. Both Petrone’s fell in love with NH and were always grateful to have landed here.
Augusta was preceded in death by her parents, Ernest and “Molly” Henderson, an elder brother, Ernest Henderson III, and a nephew, Ernest IV, also by her paternal grandparents, Ernest and Berta von Bunsen Henderson. Professor Henderson was active in lectures at the Dublin Lake Club, where he was counted as one of the founders.
The family would like to sincerely thank the caregivers at Hospice at HCS, and especially Nancy Folsom and Jodi Matson for their amazing, personal, professional, gentle, and respectful care they gave to Augusta through her illness.
Family and friends are warmly invited to a Graveside Service on Sunday, August 10, 2025, beginning at 11:00 AM, in the Dublin Cemetery located on Main Street (NH Rte 101) in Dublin, NH 03444. The service will be located near the intersection of Old Common Road and Old Pound Road, and personnel will be there to assist attendees with parking and other needs. Please notify Cournoyer Funeral Home directly with any special requests or needs, or for any additional information.
In lieu of flowers, Mrs. Petrone requested friends donate at some level to their favorite US Political Party.
To order memorial trees or send flowers to the family in memory of Augusta Petrone, please visit our flower store.
