Obituary of Eleanor Florence Jones

WESTFIELD - E. Florence (Shawley) Jones, age 84, of Prospect Road, Westfield died Sunday, January 30, 2011 at the Absolut Care of Westfield of complications of dementia. Florence was born on August 27, 1926 in the coal mining town of Slickville, PA, the eldest daughter of the late John M. and Alice V. (Ankney) Shawley. She attended Bell Township High School and graduated from Grove City College, where she earned her teaching degree shortly after WW II. A Westfield resident since 1960, she had been a lifelong educator; teaching in diverse age groups and subjects from nursery school to reform schools. She was noted for her hands-on teaching technique, most notably the field trip. Many of her former students will recall the Iroquois and Age of Homespun projects, or Florence's innovative consumer economics and local history units. "Flo Baby" was the Social Studies Teacher, and eventually was promoted to Department Head for many years, and she also advised the yearbook, thereby shaping school memories. Her own education was enhanced by extensive graduate work at summer conferences. She retired from Westfield Academy in 1986. She was an accomplished seamstress, having made clothes for her family and more than 30 quilts and wall hangings. The Marigolds in her garden were unsurpassed. She was an avid reader and theater goer and was active in the Presbyterian Church, the Historical Society, and was on the Board of Directors at the Community Kitchen since its inception. She is survived by her daughter: Juliana Jones of Westfield, NY and her son: Bradley (Connie) T. Jones of Cherry Hill, NJ, as well as her two granddaughters, Hannah and Catherine Jones of Morristown, NJ. Florence is further survived by her sister, Grace Jean Smith of Greensburg, PA and her brother, John Paul Shawley of Saltsburg, PA. She was preceded in death by her sister, Elizabeth Marie Thompson. No calling hours will be observed. Services will be announced at a later date. Memorials may be made to The Westfield Community Kitchen, 12 Elm St., or to The First Presbyterian Church and Society of Westfield, 49 So. Portage St., or to the Patterson Library, 40 So. Portage Street, all of Westfield, NY 14787. Funeral arrangements have been entrusted to the MASON Funeral Home, 37 Clinton St., Westfield, NY. Log on to www.masonfuneral.com to send the Jones family a message of sympathy.