Sharon Jellen

Sharon Kay (Sutton) Jellen, beloved wife of 35 years of Robert E. Jellen of Willington, CT, passed peacefully into the welcoming arms of the Lord on Tuesday, July 28, 2009 with her husband and her daughter at her side. She was born in Miami, FL on February 26, 1945, the daughter of Rose Yvonne (Bourque) Sutton and C. Curtis Sutton. The family moved to Tampa, FL in 1955 and Sharon spent her formative years there. In 1962 she graduated from the Academy of the Holy Names, Bayshore and in 1966 from Spring Hill (Jesuit) College in Mobile, Alabama with a degree in English. While a student there, she was actively involved in the civil rights movement. She taught one year in Florida at East Bay High School before moving to Connecticut. At Longview (Ellington Jr. High School), she was a much-respected and loved 8th grade English teacher who treated all of her students of varying ability levels with kindness and dignity. In June, 1974 she received her Masters degree in counseling from Central Connecticut State University. She and Robert Jellen were married at St. Bernard's Church, Rockville, CT, on July 31, 1974. On April 24, 1980 their dear daughter Amanda Rose was born. In 1981 she, her husband, and her daughter spent Robert's Fulbright Exchange teaching year in Edinburgh, Scotland. Upon returning home in 1982, she assumed the job of a young mother at home with her child. In 1985 she began a second career as a law librarian at Pepe & Hazard and later LeBouef, Lamb, Greene & McRae in Hartford. In the Willington community, she served as a member, and later Chairwoman, of the Willington Public Library. She was a moderator of elections and assistant registrar of voters as well as a long-time member of the Willington Democratic Town Committee. A voracious reader, she loved travel, genealogy, and UCONN Women's Basketball. She is survived by her husband, Robert E. Jellen, her daughter Amanda Rose (Jellen) Dumont and son-in-law Tyler M. Dumont of Jamaica Plain, Boston, MA, her sister-in-law Leigh Gwara of Storrs, CT, two nephews and two nieces, several cousins in Connecticut, Florida, and Ontario, Canada and a host of friends, neighbors and associates. Her funeral service will be held on Monday, August 3, 2009, with a procession forming by 9 A.M. at Introvigne Funeral Home, Inc., 51 East Main St., Stafford Springs, CT, followed by a Mass of Christian Burial at 10 A.M. at St. Thomas Aquinas Church, No. Eagleville Rd., Storrs, CT. Burial will follow at St. Edward Cemetery, Stafford Springs, CT. Calling hours are on Sunday from 4-8 P.M. at the funeral home. Memorial donations may be made to St. Jude's Childrens' Research Hospital, 332 North Lauderdale, Memphis, TN 38105 or the National Kidney Foundation, 30 East 33rd St., New York, NY. The family would like to extend its undying gratitude to the Bissell II and ICU nursing staffs at Rockville General Hospital as well as Drs. Richard Orris, Claudio Milite, Angelito Bacay, Arnold Klipstein, Matthew Dukehart, Tamil Anban and Saud Anwar of ECHN and Drs. Barone and Tortora from Hartford. For online condolences or directions, please visit: www.introvignefuneralhome.com

Sharon Jellen

February 26, 1945 - July 28, 2009