Eleanor Elaine Kaiser

Eleanor "Ellie" Elaine Kaiser, 89, of Telford, TN, passed away on Friday, July 26, 2024, in Parksley, VA. Born on February 1, 1935, in Portland, CT, and raised in Old Saybrook, CT, Ellie was the daughter of the late Raymond Ernest Lawton and Ruth Eva Lawton. She graduated from Old Saybrook Consolidated School in 1953 and enlisted in the United States Air Force.

After serving honorably for two years, Ellie married her high school sweetheart, Jay D. Kaiser. They ultimately settled in southwestern New Hampshire, where they went on to raise five children. Ellie and Jay divorced in the early 1980s and a few years later she earned her associate's degree from Keene State College. In 2005, she retired from NGM Insurance after working there as an administrative assistant for over 27 years.

Ellie had always enjoyed traveling, especially if it included a beach. She spent many vacations between the Connecticut shoreline and the Eastern Shore of Virginia, and being the history buff that she was, she also enjoyed visiting Civil War battle sites throughout the Blue Ridge and Smoky Mountains. Some of her other hobbies included camping, reading, baking, playing piano, and she loved watching UConn women's basketball and the Boston Red Sox.  She also loved knitting and made sure everyone in the family received one of her beautifully knitted Christmas stockings, personalized with their names. Ellie had a deep faith throughout her life and on any given Sunday she could be found sitting in the same spot in the same pew - right up  front where she could get the best view. She was a member of Sturtevant Chapel in Keene, NH, Emmanuel Baptist Church in Newington, CT, Jonesborough Senior Center Book Club in Jonesborough, TN, as well as Calvary Baptist Church in Denton, MD.

Ellie will be remembered for her warm smile, her thoughtfulness, and her grit. She will be deeply missed by all who knew and loved her.

In addition to her parents, she was predeceased by her sister, Dorothy Whitman, and her husband, Leonard; her brother, Henry “Bud” Lawton, and his wife, Eleanor; her former husband, Jay Kaiser; and her grandsons, Heath Thompson and Ian Washburn.

Ellie is survived by her children, Elizabeth Kaiser of Slidell, LA, Paul Kaiser and his wife, Kathleen, of Locustville, VA, Deborah Diehl and her husband, James, of Telford, TN, Beverly DeYoung and her husband, David, of Melfa, VA, and Casey Kaiser of Plainville, CT; as well as her 10 grandchildren and 11 great-grandchildren.

A public interment will be held Saturday, September 7, 2024, at 11:00 a.m., at Eastford Grove Cemetery in Eastford, CT.

Memory tributes may be shared with the family at www.williamsfuneralhomes.com

Arrangements by the Williams-Parksley Funeral Home.

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