Mary Ellen Talbot

Groton - Mary Ellen (Jackson) Talbot, formerly of New London and Niantic, passed into Heaven on Aug. 19, 2013.

She was born in Crown Hill, W.Va., on May 17, 1917, to French and Louise Jackson. After graduating from Washington High School in 1935, and the Cordoza Business School in Washington, D.C., two years later, Mary Ellen and her mother, who predeceased her in 1985, came to New London in 1936.

She met and married Kenneth H. Talbot in 1938. The couple was married for 58 years before Kenneth died in 1996. They had two children, Kenneth Michael Talbot and Pamela Ellen Talbot.

For many years, Mary Ellen owned a catering business serving numerous events in southeastern Connecticut. Cooking was her lifelong passion, and she especially enjoyed preparing grand holiday meals for family. Humor and a positive outlook on life were hallmarks of her personality.

She consistently believed in civic responsibility. As an active member of the New London community, she was a USO program planner, neighborhood air raid warden in New London's Hill Street-Shapley Street area during the war, and a YMCA planner and board member. Whether a member of the Thames Science Center board, Laurel Trail Council of Girl Scouts, or Winthrop School PTA state representative, Mary Ellen believed in serving the community through civic participation. Mary and Ken Talbot were founding members of Club Fifteen and participated in many of the club's events and activities. Additionally, Mary Ellen was active in helping to coordinate the New London gubernatorial campaigns of John Dempsey, Chester Bowles, and Abe Ribbicoff.

During the 1960s and 1970s, Mary Ellen was the director of the state's Homes For Children Project, managing adoption programs for three Connecticut counties. Her television commercials on behalf of children needing adoption brought smiles to the faces of family and friends alike. In 1975, Mary Ellen became the coordinator of Volunteers and Community Relations for Long Lane School in Middletown. She was a member of the Board of Trustees of Lawrence + Memorial Hospital.

Mary Ellen Talbot is survived by a son, Kenneth Michael Talbot and daughter-in-law, Catherine A. Talbot of Mystic; a daughter, Pamela Ellen Talbot of Hartford; two sisters, Marguerite Neely of Hartford and Janet Smith of Port St. Lucie, Fla. Surviving nephews and nieces are Donald Neely, Michael Neely, John Smith of Hartford, Diane Neely of New Britain, Troy Neely of Cromwell, and Lubabalo T. Bululu of Bogota, N.J.

The Talbot family wishes to thank the skilled, kind, and dedicated care givers at Crescent Point in Niantic and Fairview Nursing Home in Groton. The family is deeply grateful to the Deacons and Deaconesses of Shiloh Baptist Church who brought spiritual support and the healing comfort of Christ through song and prayer to Mary Ellen in her final days.

Services will begin at 10 a.m. on Saturday, Aug. 24, at Shiloh Baptist Church, 1 Garvin St., New London.

Arrangements are by the Lester Gee Funeral Home, 108 Blinman St., New London.

The family asks that those who wish to make contributions, donate to the Shiloh Baptist Diaconate Board.