Sheila J. (Taylor) Jones

Effingham, NH 

Sheila (Janice) Taylor Jones, 81, of Effingham NH, passed peacefully on Saturday January 15, 2022 at Huggins Hospital in Wolfeboro, NH after a more than five-year battle with progressive dementia.  Born on September 28, 1940 at Boston Lying-In Hospital’s Richardson House to John Reading and Janice (Appler) Taylor, Sheila was raised in Melrose MA and spent many summers on Leavitt Bay in Center Ossipee NH, where her family’s camp has been located since 1949.

After graduating from Melrose High School in 1958, she attended Westbrook Junior College (now the Portland Campus of the University of New England) in Portland ME, earning an Associate of Applied Science degree in Retailing in 1960.  After two years employed with the Jordan Marsh Company as a Floor Manager, Sheila returned to school and acquired a Certificate from the Hickox Secretarial School in 1962, then worked at RCA Aerospace Systems in Burlington MA and later at the Houghton Mifflin Company in Boston MA, where she served as Secretary to the Treasurer.

In the mid-1960s, Sheila joined the Blitzschnell Ski Club in West Ossipee NH where she met Robert Dennis Jones, to whom she married on March 19, 1971 in the Chapel at the Centre Congregational Church in Lynnfield MA.  After living in Beverly MA for about a year, Sheila and Bob moved to New Hampshire in 1972, living first in Wolfeboro and then purchasing a home in Effingham in 1973, where, with the exception of a brief period residing in Frederiksted, St. Croix, US Virgin Islands from 1977 to 1978, she lived for the remainder of her life.  In 1975 they welcomed their son Erik.

Sheila would be employed throughout Carroll County NH during the next four decades, including at Sunny Villa Restaurant, Indian Mound IGA, J.C. Penney, North Conway Bank, Carroll Reed, The Center of Hope, Northern Human Services, and with William Marsh MD as well as Industrial Box in Kezar Falls, ME, before retiring in 2009.

Throughout her life, Sheila made time to give back through involvement in civic affairs and numerous community groups, including serving in Effingham on the Planning Board from 1974-1977, as Tax Collector from 1976-1977 and 1984-1988, as a Town Auditor from 1980-1984, on the Activities Committee from 1979-1990, as Deputy Town Clerk from 1984-1992, and as a Supervisor of the Checklist from 1997-2016.  In addition, she was a member, at various times, of the Friends of Effingham, the First Parish Society of the Lord’s Hill Church, the Friends of the Effingham Library, the Effingham History Project, the Restore Effingham’s Architectural & Cultural Heritage (R.E.A.C.H.) Committee, the Effingham Preservation Society, the Lord’s Hill Meeting House, and the Effingham Historical Society.

In addition, Sheila was a Curved Bar Girl Scout, active with the Appler Family Reunion Association, a member of the Ossipee Historical Society, the Effingham representative to the Ossipee Lake Natural Area Working Group, a member of the Broad-Leavitt Bay Association, a Reiki II Practitioner, a Notary Public, a Justice of the Peace, and in 1999, co-wrote Ossipee Riverlands: Effingham, Freedom, and the Great Ossipee River with Carol Foord of Freedom NH.

During the four years that her son Erik attended Brewster Academy in Wolfeboro, she served on the Parents Association Executive Committee and for most every Saturday morning, volunteered in the Academy’s Kenison Library.  Lastly, for over 50 years, Sheila was heavily involved with alumni affairs at her Alma Mater, serving as a Class Agent, Class Treasurer, Class President, Reunion Chair, Alumni Association President, and Member of the Alumni Board of Directors at various times.  During those years, she received numerous awards for fundraising and in 2005, was recognized by UNE with the Westbrook Alumni Service Award.

Sheila is survived by Bob, her husband of almost 51 years, and their son Erik, both of Effingham NH; her twin sister Gail Overberg (David) of Beverly MA; her sister Candace Connelly (James) of Center Ossipee NH and Gloucester MA; her nephews Dr. Mark Overberg of Albuquerque NM and John Overberg (Zhen) of Salisbury MA; her niece Louisa Fagone (Michael) of Danvers MA; her niece and goddaughter Alexsandria Connelly (Nicholas Dukette) of Gloucester MA; her grandnephews Seth and Blake Fagone of Danvers MA, James Taylor of Gloucester MA, and Arthur Overberg of Salisbury MA, and her grandniece, Anna Overberg of Salisbury MA; as well as extended family and friends from throughout her lifetime.

In accordance with her wishes, Sheila will be cremated.  A Memorial Service is planned for Saturday, July 16, 2022 at 12:00 noon at the Lord’s Hill Meeting House in Effingham NH with a reception immediately to follow at the Effingham Historical Society.  The Memorial Service and reception will be open to all who wish to attend to honor and remember her.  Further details regarding the service will be released in future.  On a date to be scheduled later, Sheila will be interred at the family plot in Wyoming Cemetery, Melrose, MA in a Delft urn she selected herself because, “If I’m going to be surrounded by dirt, I want to be in something PRETTY!”  The internment will be a private occasion for family.

In lieu of flowers, the family is requesting donations toward a goal of $25,000 to establish an endowed scholarship in Sheila’s name at the University of New England.  Anyone wishing to remember her in this way may send contributions to:

            Sheila Janice Taylor Jones ’60 Scholarship Fund

            c/o University of New England

            Institutional Advancement

            716 Stevens Avenue

            Portland ME 04103

Contributions may also be made online at https://www.une.edu/giving.  Note “Sheila Janice Taylor Jones ’60 Scholarship Fund” in the comments field.

The family would like to thank the members of the Effingham Fire Department, paramedics and EMTs of Action Ambulance, and the doctors, nurses, and staff of Huggins Hospital who took such tender and loving care of Sheila, which made a very difficult day much easier to bear.

Celebration of Life for Sheila (Janice) Taylor Jones 

A Celebration of Life for Sheila (Janice) Taylor Jones of Effingham NH, who passed away January 15, 2022, will be held at 12:00 p.m. on Saturday, July 16, 2022, at the Lord’s Hill Meeting House, 660 Province Lake Road, Effingham NH. All who wish to honor and remember Sheila are invited to attend. 

Since this will be a joyous recollection of her life, guests are encouraged to wear bright, comfortable, weather-appropriate clothing. Parking will be limited, so please carpool with others attending if possible. A reception with light refreshments will follow the service at the Effingham Historical Society, 1014 Province Lake Road, Effingham NH. 

In lieu of flowers, the family is requesting donations toward a goal of $25,000 to establish an endowed scholarship in Sheila’s name at the University of New England. Anyone wishing to remember her in this way may send contributions to:           Sheila Janice Taylor Jones ’60 Scholarship Fund  c/o University of New England

            Institutional Advancement

            716 Stevens Avenue

            Portland ME 04103

 Alternatively, contributions may also be made online at https://www.une.edu/giving (Note “Sheila Janice Taylor Jones ’60 Scholarship Fund” in the comments field) or forms for contributions will be available at the reception following the service.

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