Elsie
Elsie Thomas Lamson
d. February 19, 2017
BOLTON
Get married in green and live like a queen. That was the philosophy of Elsie Lamson who passed away Sunday, February 19, 2017 in her home after a full and happy life of 92 years.
Elsie, of Spectacle Hill Road, was with her husband, daughters, relatives, friends and her beloved cats in her final days after a brief hospitalization.
She was born in Hudson on June 25, 1924, the daughter of George and Annie (Beaton) Thomas. Elsie attended Hudson High School and went on to work at the former Braga Shoe Co. She soon met her husband, David, an only child who informed her she would have to tell his mother they were getting married.
David's mother Helen, who used to call Elsie by the nickname "Tommy", approved and brought her by train into Boston where they bought a Jonathan Logan knee-length wool dress in green. After a ceremony at St. Luke's Episcopal Church in Hudson and a brief reception at her sister's house, David whisked her off to Norwich University in Northfield, VT, so he could finish his college education after serving in World War II. The couple celebrated their 70th wedding anniversary on Oct. 12, 2016.
At Norwich, they lived in a trailer, dining mostly on Spam and canned peas, while Elsie worked in the library and David completed his studies. After graduation in 1949, the couple returned to Hudson where David joined and then later took over the family lumber business, R.S. Lamson & Sons.
Elsie gave birth to three girls, Lynne, Lona and Leah, and raised them at home while also filling in as a bookkeeper at the lumberyard. She became clerk of the company some years later.
She was a member of the Hudson Woman's Club and served as its president. She also taught Sunday school at St. Luke's and was a Girl Scout leader and a neighborhood chairman of the scouts.
She enjoyed shopping at Gould's and Talbot's and never went on a trip with her husband or family without a suitcase full of new clothes. She traveled near and far, enjoying excursions to Europe, Mexico, Australia, Panama, the Caribbean Islands, Alaska, Hawaii and more. She also traveled to see the Patriots win three Super Bowl championships. But mostly it was the short trek to Little Squam Lake in Holderness, N.H. that she cherished with family and friends.
Elsie learned to play golf at age 60 and was a member of both the Marlborough Country Club and the Waukewan Country Club in Center Harbor, N.H. She enjoyed martinis and would advise people that they should never be consumed in even numbers so she would have one or three, but never two. In her later years, she switched to white wine. She also loved ice cream and anything chocolate.
She was a passionate card player who didn't like to lose and enjoyed home decorating, reading and serving as a back-up babysitter for her four grandchildren. After her first grandchild attempted and failed to call her Grammie, she then became known as Didi.
In addition to her husband, David, she leaves her three daughters and their husbands, Lynne and Dusty Sheldon of Bolton, Lona Lamson and Bill Eddy of Hudson, and Leah Lamson and Steve McCormick of Bolton. She also leaves four grandchildren, Lindsey Stepp and her husband, Morgan of Holderness, N.H., Andrew Yauga of Portland, OR, Eben McCormick and his wife, Danielle of Hudson, and Libby McCormick of Evanston, Ill.
Elsie also leaves two great-grandchildren, Harper and Louisa Stepp, and is survived by many nieces and nephews.
She was predeceased by her siblings, Ruth Kane, Mildred Bourque, Edith Johnson, who was her twin sister, John Thomas and Faith Rago.
Calling hours will be held at the Tighe Hamilton Funeral Home, 50 Central Street, Hudson, from 4:00 to 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday, February 21. A private burial service will be held the next day. A memorial service will follow at a later date.
Donations in her memory may be made to the Hudson High School Booster Club, 69 Brigham Street, Hudson MA 01749, or to the Women's Initiative of the United Way of Central Massachusetts, 484 Main Street, Worcester, MA 01608.
Get married in green and live like a queen. That was the philosophy of Elsie Lamson who passed away Sunday, February 19, 2017 in her home after a full and happy life of 92 years.
Elsie, of Spectacle Hill Road, was with her husband, daughters, relatives, friends and her beloved cats in her final days after a brief hospitalization.
She was born in Hudson on June 25, 1924, the daughter of George and Annie (Beaton) Thomas. Elsie attended Hudson High School and went on to work at the former Braga Shoe Co. She soon met her husband, David, an only child who informed her she would have to tell his mother they were getting married.
David's mother Helen, who used to call Elsie by the nickname "Tommy", approved and brought her by train into Boston where they bought a Jonathan Logan knee-length wool dress in green. After a ceremony at St. Luke's Episcopal Church in Hudson and a brief reception at her sister's house, David whisked her off to Norwich University in Northfield, VT, so he could finish his college education after serving in World War II. The couple celebrated their 70th wedding anniversary on Oct. 12, 2016.
At Norwich, they lived in a trailer, dining mostly on Spam and canned peas, while Elsie worked in the library and David completed his studies. After graduation in 1949, the couple returned to Hudson where David joined and then later took over the family lumber business, R.S. Lamson & Sons.
Elsie gave birth to three girls, Lynne, Lona and Leah, and raised them at home while also filling in as a bookkeeper at the lumberyard. She became clerk of the company some years later.
She was a member of the Hudson Woman's Club and served as its president. She also taught Sunday school at St. Luke's and was a Girl Scout leader and a neighborhood chairman of the scouts.
She enjoyed shopping at Gould's and Talbot's and never went on a trip with her husband or family without a suitcase full of new clothes. She traveled near and far, enjoying excursions to Europe, Mexico, Australia, Panama, the Caribbean Islands, Alaska, Hawaii and more. She also traveled to see the Patriots win three Super Bowl championships. But mostly it was the short trek to Little Squam Lake in Holderness, N.H. that she cherished with family and friends.
Elsie learned to play golf at age 60 and was a member of both the Marlborough Country Club and the Waukewan Country Club in Center Harbor, N.H. She enjoyed martinis and would advise people that they should never be consumed in even numbers so she would have one or three, but never two. In her later years, she switched to white wine. She also loved ice cream and anything chocolate.
She was a passionate card player who didn't like to lose and enjoyed home decorating, reading and serving as a back-up babysitter for her four grandchildren. After her first grandchild attempted and failed to call her Grammie, she then became known as Didi.
In addition to her husband, David, she leaves her three daughters and their husbands, Lynne and Dusty Sheldon of Bolton, Lona Lamson and Bill Eddy of Hudson, and Leah Lamson and Steve McCormick of Bolton. She also leaves four grandchildren, Lindsey Stepp and her husband, Morgan of Holderness, N.H., Andrew Yauga of Portland, OR, Eben McCormick and his wife, Danielle of Hudson, and Libby McCormick of Evanston, Ill.
Elsie also leaves two great-grandchildren, Harper and Louisa Stepp, and is survived by many nieces and nephews.
She was predeceased by her siblings, Ruth Kane, Mildred Bourque, Edith Johnson, who was her twin sister, John Thomas and Faith Rago.
Calling hours will be held at the Tighe Hamilton Funeral Home, 50 Central Street, Hudson, from 4:00 to 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday, February 21. A private burial service will be held the next day. A memorial service will follow at a later date.
Donations in her memory may be made to the Hudson High School Booster Club, 69 Brigham Street, Hudson MA 01749, or to the Women's Initiative of the United Way of Central Massachusetts, 484 Main Street, Worcester, MA 01608.
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