Jill Leanne Coldren Wilson of Hopkinton died on July 24, 2024, at the Merrimack County Nursing Home from complications from Alzheimer’s Disease. She was born on December 16, 1937, in Easton, Pennsylvania, to John Lee Coldren and Helen Benner Coldren. She graduated from Syracuse University in 1960 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Journalism. She was a member of Alpha Xi Delta sorority. She caught the eye of her future husband, Dr. Robert O. Wilson, on campus one day, and, on July 21, 1962, they were married in Hendricks Chapel by the Dean, Charles Noble.
They moved to Buffalo, New York, where she wrote advertising copy for Hengerer’s Department Store for three years during Bob’s internship and residency at the Millard Fillmore Hospital. Bob and Jill moved to Concord in 1965, where she joined the Concord Monitor staff, covering the cultural scene. Despite managing her home and, now, three young children, she was able to contribute outstanding service to the community, serving first as president of the Dewey School PTO, then as presidents of the Merrimack Valley Day Care Center, League of Women Voters, Concord Hospital Associates, Concord Flower Mission, and the New Hampshire Symphony Orchestra. She served on the Advisory Council of the Currier Museum of Art and founded the Concord Hospital Archives with Elaine Hoyt after serving as the Concord Hospital School of Nursing librarian. At the New Hampshire Charitable Fund, she served on the Jameson Scholarship Fund. She was a trustee of the Kimball-Jenkins Estate, where as a volunteer, she worked for three years to create the School of Art, fulfilling Carolyn Jenkins’ wish that her home become a center for creative art in Concord. Jill was a member of St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church in Hopkinton.
Jill was the author of three books: “A Kindly Interest: the Men and Women of Concord Hospital and its School of Nursing, 1884-1989”,”Friendship at Furlough Lodge”, a history of the Snowshoe Club 1892-1992, and “a Good Corner to Bank On”, a history of the Concord Savings Bank. She was a voracious reader, especially of mystery novels and biographies, often reading three books simultaneously. She was an avid collector of English ceramics, William B. Durgin silver, and Emily Dickinson poetry. With Bob, she loved traveling to England, Scotland, and Italy. But, her private happy place was “Sea Cliff”, the family home on Cliff Island in Casco Bay, Maine, for 50 years.
Jill is survived by her husband of 62 years; children: Andrew Macfarlane Wilson (Margaret Phillips) of Ayer, Massachusetts, Benjamin Holmes Wilson (Lucy) of Hopkinton, and Abigail Wilson Hoven (Mark) of North Berwick, Maine; her sister, Judith Logan of Gorham, Maine, and six grandchildren of whom she was very proud: Leigh, Lincoln , Harrison, Sasha, Porter, and Amelia.
There are no calling hours. A private service of committal will be held in the Old Hopkinton Cemetery. A Memorial Service will be held at St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church in Hopkinton at 11:00 AM, Saturday, August 10. The family wishes to thank the staffs at The Birches at Concord and the Merrimack County Nursing Home, as well as the Granite VNA Hospice service, for their compassionate care over the past five and a half years. Donations may be made in Jill’s name to the Kimball-Jenkins Estate School of Art and the Alzheimer’s Association.
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