Elsie (Golden) O’Neill died April 7.  Born May 4, 1921 to Emma and Frank Golden, she grew up in Adams, Mass.

Mrs. O’Neill was an accomplished athlete and competitive gymnast. She graduated from what is now part of Tufts University, as a physical therapist.

In World War II, Mrs. O’Neill served as an officer in a US Army M.A.S.H. unit from 1943-45. Trained at Fort Bragg, she shipped out of New York Harbor on a stripped down troop ship; previously The Queen Mary.  She continued her army training in England.  Later, camped in tents on the Salisbury Plains in sight of Stonehenge, she waited for D-Day and The Channel crossing to Normandy.  She was in London on R&R the night Paddington Station was bombed. Finally her hospital unit followed the troops to Normandy Beach. It was jammed with wounded soldiers and huddling POWs. Mrs. O’Neill stayed camped at Normandy on a nearby field where she tended to the casualties until moving north to Liege, Belgium.  Hiding in foxholes along the way to avoid snipers and strafing aircraft, she arrived days before Hitler’s surprise attack, “The Battle of The Bulge.” Hundreds of civilians crowded the streets with their bundles and pushcarts retreating from the Nazis.  She remained there during the blitz caring for patients under the constant terror of buzz bombs and gunfire. Over 800,000 soldiers were committed and 19,000 Americans lives were lost. Her tent hospital was the only one (out of 10) that survived that horrific battle.  Working in a rest camp for wounded personnel from other hospitals, she remained near the front lines until her tour of duty ended.

Mrs. O’Neill met her future husband, Harry Jordan, on the Champs-Elysees, Paris while celebrating victory.  Until her retirement, Mrs. O’Neill worked as the Director of P.T. for Otis Hospital in East Cambridge. A single mother, she raised her boys in Brookline, vacationing with them at her cottage on Lake Sunapee, N.H.

An accomplished cook, she always had room for one more at her dinner table. She was actively involved in the Cottage Owners Association and was a willing volunteer.

Mrs. O’Neill was the wife of the late Harry Jordan and the late Thomas O’Neill and grandmother to the late K.C. Jordan.  She leaves her sons, Gregg Jordan and his wife Courtney of Duxbury and Jeffrey Jordan and his wife Robin of Newbury, N. H.; her deceased sister, Francis; her stepchildren, Sharon Dugan, Coreen Navoy, and Thomas O’Neill III; a sister-in-law, Marie Golden; three grandchildren, four great-grandchildren, and many nieces, nephews and close friends.  She also leaves her friend and partner, Daniel Bosworth whom she lived with in Concord N.H. until her death.

A memorial service will be held Saturday, May 1 at 11 a.m. at St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church, 52 Gould Rd., New London, N.H.  No flowers please.