Elsie Hall ... enjoyed music, dancing; at 103

Elsie Hall, formerly of Chestnut Hill Road in Rochester and 522 Sixth Street in Dover, died peacefully on Feb. 8, 2023, at Dover Center for Health and Rehabilitation after a period of failing health. Elsie was 103 years old.

She was born on Jan. 16, 1920, in South Portland, Maine, the daughter of Fred and Delvina (Perreault) Shaw. Her birth coincided with the start of Prohibition and her long life spanned the period between the trailing edges of two worldwide pandemics, the Spanish Flu and Covid-19.

Elsie came from a close-knit family of six children who enjoyed doing things together. After her 1939 marriage to the love of her life, Eddie Hall, their first child Rodney died of a congenital defect soon after birth, but in 1943, after Eddie left for Europe to fight in WWII, she was blessed with a healthy Christmas baby (Joanne) and later another daughter (Linda) and then another son (Kim). She was a wonderful mom who made sure her children had a healthy and happy childhood.

Elsie worked for Spaulding Fiber Co. for 15 years and then for the Frisbie Hospital in Rochester for nine years as head housekeeper. She loved her job at Frisbie and retired at the age of 70. Elsie loved life and enjoyed shopping, dressing up in brightly colored clothes and fancy shoes. She made sure she never left the house without her makeup and jewelry.

Elsie also enjoyed cooking, sewing, music, singing and dancing. She was known to make the best blueberry and apple pies, and delicious chocolate and peanut butter fudge, which were her holiday specials.

When Elsie was 60 years old her mother Delvina won $100,000 in the Maine lottery and gave the prize money to all her children. Elsie and her siblings Freddie, Ruthie and Doreen ,and their spouses, had always enjoyed being at the beach together, so they used the lottery winnings to finance yearly trips to Daytona Beach, Fla., up until Eddie's untimely death in 1990. These last years with her husband were some of the happiest times in her life.

Elsie's secret to a long life was to get up, get moving and always keep singing and dancing. Not one for idle contemplation of the past, she joined the Senior Center in Dover after the passing of her husband and made many new friends. She traveled extensively over a 10-year period to Florida, Hawaii, Sicily, Myrtle Beach, S.C., New York City, Las Vegas, San Francisco, the Caribbean islands, and many trips to Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun. If the bus was leaving, she was on it.

When Elsie was no longer able to live at home, she moved into Assisted Living homes: Rosewood Manor in Gonic, Desiree's Place in Rochester, and the Gafney Home in Rochester. She loved meeting new people at the homes, along with the extra attention and all the activities.

As her vigor and mobility declined with age, Elsie moved back to Dover so she could be closer to her daughter Linda, who spent the last years of Elsie's life giving her an absolutely tireless and unending devotion. At age 101 Elsie contracted a serious case of the Covid-19 virus, but with the help of monoclonal antibody treatment she survived the ordeal. Two years later, at the tender age of 103, she finally departed this material world to be with her beloved husband Eddie in the fair fields of Elysium.

Elsie was predeceased by her husband Edward, a son Rodney Hall, her brothers Roland Shaw, Fred Shaw and his wife Becky, sisters Ruth and husband Galen Smith, sister Dot and husband Roy Bailey and brother-in-law Paul Gross.

She is survived by daughters Joanne Sheppe and her husband Ronnie of Rochester; Linda Williams and her husband Jim of Rollinsford; her son Kim Hall and wife Patty of North Carolina; and by her much loved and equally vivacious sister Doreen Gross of York, Maine. Elsie is also survived by 5 grandchildren, 7 great-grandchildren and 2 great-great-grandchildren.

Elsie's daughter Linda would like to thank Brookhaven Hospice, Dr. Paul Berry and all the wonderful and dedicated nurses and staff at Dover Center for Health and Rehab. There will always be a special place in her heart for those who cared for her mother.