Eleanor R. Bixby of North Hill in Needham, a faculty emeritus of Mt. Ida College, died on the Fourth of July at her home with family members and care givers present. She was 88.Ms. Bixby was raised in Wellesley and was a member of Wellesley High School’s class of 1932. She graduated from Wellesley College in 1936 with a major in Economics.During her college years her aunt Dr. Grace E. Rochford, one of Boston’s pioneering women surgeons, became her guardian and was a strong enough influence to deflect her from her original ambition to become a teacher.She entered the executive training program at Filene’s, instead, becoming the assistant buyer for the branch shops in accessories, lingerie and loungewear. A co-worker at Filene’s who lived in the same Beacon Hill neighborhood was Caroline Anderson, later to become one of the first residents of North Hill. The two were avid bridge partners honored only a few weeks ago as winners-yet-again in a North Hill bridge tournament.In 1943, looking to be more involved in the war effort, Ms. Bixby tendered her resignation to the personnel director at Filene’s (a gentleman by the name of Mr. William H. Bixby) and went to work for the Bureau of Labor Statistics as an economist for the Consumer Price Index.She traveled around New England collecting data with a team member who happened to be the daughter of that same personnel director. She left that job, too, only a year later-when she married Ralph L. Bixby, her partner’s brother. Mr. Bixby senior’s loss of a good employee was offset by his gain of a daughter-in-law.Ms. Bixby has been a member of the Needham League of Woman Voters since moving to Needham in 1945, serving until recently on various committees. As president in 1950-52 she attended the LMV National Convention in Denver.GirlScouts was another life long activity. She served on the Board of Directors in Needham, was a troop leader for many years and the director of Needham’s Camp Malcom in 1958, 1959, 1964 and 1966. The Patriots’ Trail Girl Scout Council awarded her a 75 Year pin in 1999.Her wish to be a teacher was finally realized in 1960 when she was hired as an Instructor of Economics at what was then Mt. Ida Junior College in Newton. She served as chairman of the Retailing Department and president of the Faculty Association during her twenty-two years there.Despite a demanding career, Ms. Bixby continued to pursue community activities. She was on the Board of Directors of the Needham Taxpayers Association, served on the Social Action and Missionary Committees at The Congregational Church and was on the Board of Directors of the Needham Visiting Nurse Association. In her role with VNA she was involved in establishing hospice care in the Needham area, something she benefited from in the last weeks of her life.At North Hill where she lived for the past eleven years she was involved with the Wellness Committee, the Resident Council and Civic Forum. One of the jobs she took on was to get new residents registered to vote and involved in local and state politics.Besides her late husband, she leaves three children: Suzanne of Somerville, William of Richmond, VA, and David of West Stockbridge and three grandchildren: Devin Clancy of Washington, D.C., Elizabeth Bixby of Richmond, VA, and Katy Kennedy Bixby of West Stockbridge.A memorial service will take place at The Congregational Church of Needham, 1154 Great Plain Ave on Sunday, July 20th at 2:00 p.m.In lieu of flowers, donations may be sent to the VNA Care Network, Development Office, 120 Thomas St., Worcester, MA 01608Arrangements by the Eaton Funeral Home in Needham, MA 1-781-444-0201