Elsbeth L. (Soderstrom) Jones of Madison, CT and former Norwalk resident, died on April 9 at Danbury Hospital after an extended illness. She was 81. She was born on September 23, 1927 to the late Fabian and Margaret Louise Soderstrom of Norwalk, CT where she graduated from Norwalk High School in 1945. Elsbeth received a B.S. in nursing from the University of Connecticut at Storrs, leading to a lifelong passion and career in nursing education. In 1950 she married the late Donald A. Jones of New Britain and lived most of their married life in Connecticut, where they raised three sons. The family first resided in Norwalk, where she was an active member in the First Congregational Church and balanced careers as both a nurse and homemaker. Moving to Wilton in 1966, she worked as a nursing instructor at the Norwalk Hospital School of Nursing and later at the University of Bridgeport School of Nursing as an instructor/professor. While in her fifties she returned to graduate school (Teachers College/Columbia) earning an MA in Nursing Education. Thereafter, she worked in clinical/staff development at St. Vincent's Medical Center in Bridgeport, including being an oncology specialist and educator in the ostomy clinic. She was beloved by her patients and peers for her compassion, energy and skill as a nursing educator. Billie', as her friends knew her, retired from St. Vincent's in 1994 but continued volunteer work with the Literacy Volunteers of America. Elsbeth will not just be remembered for her quick wit and wry sense of humor but for her compassion and care towards others, especially while enduring her own progressive disorder with grace and courage. She is survived by three sons; Peter and his wife Connie Jones of Redding, Donald Scott Jones of Madison and Robert and his wife Catherine Jones of Georgetown as well as four grandchildren, Brett, Ashley, Lauren and Jennifer and three step-grandchildren, Christian, Eric and Katrina. In addition, she is survived by her sister, Carol (Soderstrom) Miller and her husband Frederick of Redding, CT. A memorial service will be held on Sunday, April 26, 2009 in the First Congregational Church on the Green in Norwalk at 2:30 pm. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Muscular Dystrophy Association or to a favorite charity. The family has selected Norwalk's Hoyt-Cognetta Funeral Home & Crematory, 5 East Wall Street to assist them in the arrangements.
To order
memorial trees or send flowers to the family in memory of Elsbeth Louise Jones, Rn, please visit our
flower store.
