Jean Taylor Safford
Jean Taylor Safford died April 18, 2015 in Kingston, MA, following a brief illness. She and her husband, Ted, who passed away earlier this year, lived in Duxbury, MA for several years following fifty-seven years in Ridgefield, CT.
Jean was born in New York City on November 23, 1922 to Josephine Carver and George Henry Taylor, and she grew up with her three sisters in Ellenville, NY. After graduating from Ellenville High School she moved to New York City to attend Katherine Gibbs School from which she graduated in 1946. Her first job was at Harper’s Bazaar where she was a Merchandise Editor. She met her future husband, Theodore Safford, Jr., of Cincinnati, Ohio while living in Manhattan. He was attending medical school in Brooklyn. They courted and were married in June 1947.
Ted and Jean moved to Ridgefield, CT to raise their family. She loved her life there and found many ways to give back to the community. Jean served on the boards of the District Nursing Association, the Altar Guild at St. Stephen’s Church, Silver Spring Country Club, Literacy Volunteers of America and ABC House. Jean also volunteered as a classroom mentor to young students in the Danbury, CT public schools. An avid gardener, Jean was blessed with an eye for composition and color which she developed into a flair for arranging flowers. Jean served as President of the Ridgefield Garden Club, and one of her proudest achievements was being appointed a judge for The Garden Club of America, a role she loved and at which she served for many years.
Jean was a renowned hostess, and her parties were legendary. She passed on her love of great food and entertaining to her children. She also had an abiding love of animals. Her devotion to the many dogs and cats she nurtured over the years gave her great pleasure. Once she discovered the Rescue League for Golden Retrievers, she took in a string of five or six rescued dogs who needed a loving home. She gave them that and more.
Jean also was an accomplished athlete. She skied, played tennis and was an avid golfer well into her eighties. She loved to laugh and knew how to have fun. She was feisty and spunky right up to the end, and she always could be counted on for her absolute candor.
Jean was inspired by an unconfirmed report that her family was descended from Mayflower passengers. The tale was told by an elderly aunt which made the veracity of the account even more suspect. Intrigued with the challenge of confirming or refuting this claim, she embarked on a more than two year process of research. After many dead ends and a bit of luck, the family lineage was confirmed. Jean and her sisters are 10th generation direct descendants of John and Priscilla Alden. Her line is through their second child and eldest daughter, Elizabeth, who married Thomas Pabodie, a family name now known as Peabody.
Jean’s older sister Patricia passed away 20 years ago. She is survived by her sisters, Mary Francis Evans of Clinton, NY and Harriet Hoskinson of Wilton, CT; and her four children; Holly and her husband, Charles Weilbrenner of Duxbury; MA, Jennifer and her husband, Jefferson Kimball of South Freeport, ME; Theodore Safford III of Norwell, MA; and Taylor and his wife Kathleen, of Mill Valley, CA. Grandchildren include Andrew Marconi and his husband, Ed Quinones, of Duxbury, MA, and their children Cody, Brandon and Zachary; Jason Marconi of Venice, CA; Alexander Marconi and his wife, Megan, of Duxbury, MA, and their children Jackson, Parker and Addison Sarah Viteri and her husband, Alex and daughter Louisa of Stamford, CT; Brad Weilbrenner and his wife Lucy of Duxbury, MA; Sarah Sullivan, and her husband, Jim, of Raleigh, NC, and their children Molly and Paul; Tripp Kimball, of Miami, FL; and Noah Safford of Norwell, MA; plus many devoted nieces and nephews.
Jean’s family is grateful for the wonderful staff at Wingate at Silver Lake in Kingston, MA, where Jean received such attentive and loving care.
A memorial service is planned for Saturday, June 27, 2015 at 11:00 a.m. at St. John the Evangelist Episcopal Church, 410 Washington Street, Duxbury, MA. A luncheon will follow at the Mattakeeset House.
In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made in her memory to the Osteogenesis Imperfecta Foundation, 804 W. Diamond Ave, Suite 210, Gaithersburg, MD 20878. This was a cause to which she had a personal connection.