BATH, NH — Elsine Erma (Stimson) Roderick, 94, died on Monday, May 30, 2016, at the Grafton County Nursing Home, North Haverhill, NH, after a period of declining health with family by her side.
 |
| Elsine Erma (Stimson) Roderick |
She was born at home on October 16, 1921 on the Stimson Homestead at the base of Mt. Moosilauke in Glencliff, NH to Elmer Gerald and Lilla (Martin) Stimson. She attended the one-room schoolhouse and rode the train to Woodsville to attend high school, staying with her grandmother during the week. She graduated in 1939. Knowing that education was important she worked her way through college and graduated from Nasson College, Springfield, ME in 1948 Magna Cum Laude with a degree in Home Economics. She taught high school for 2 years and worked summers as a dietician. She found that she enjoyed being a dietician and studied and became a Registered Dietitian. She was Head Dietician at St. Luke’s Hospital in San Francisco, CA for over 30 years. She had a keen interest in diabetes and the role of nutrition and taught many to care and manage this disease. She was a 50-year member of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.
She met her husband of 52 years, A Reginald Roderick, II in 1948 and they were married in Manchester, NH on July 1, 1951. He predeceased her on September 19, 2003. Their careers took them to California where they resided for nearly 50 years. She and her husband traveled the United States extensively and spent many enjoyable summers at the Roderick camp on Madawaska Lake in New Sweden, Maine. She enjoyed sending and receiving cards and letters, cooking, reading, Navaho Indian Culture, and sewing, making many of her own clothes.
She was a woman of deep faith and demonstrated this by her kindness, generosity, interest and concern for others. She had been attending church regularly at the Calvary Baptist Church in Woodsville, NH and even after being confined to the nursing home she attended the nursing home’s weekly Sunday service.
She was predeceased by her five siblings, Wilma Fillinger, Eunice Dale, Delton Stimson, Ardeth Ball, and Noreen Chase.
She was survived by a brother, Preston Stimson of Sterling, VA, who died on May 31, 2016; she is also survived by her sister-in-law, Frances (Douglas) Soderberg of Lynnfield, MA; cousins, Beryle Hammond, Ronald, Betty, Jeff, and Peter Stimson; her nieces, Bonnie Henson, Stacia Haggett, Kate Hacker and 27 other nieces and nephews; her dear friends, Ethel Lavelle and Shirley Schultz. There will be no calling hours.
A graveside service in September will be in the Evergreen Cemetery, Caribou, Maine, at the convenience of the family. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the Grafton County Home Association, 3855 Dartmouth College Highway, North Haverhill, NH 03774.
For more information or to offer an online condolence, please visit www.rickerfh.com. Ricker Funeral Home & Cremation Care of Woodsville is in charge of arrangements.
