ELLSWORTH – Alice G. Jones Tilden died Oct. 22, 2007, after living a full and active life for 92 years. She was born July 7, 1915, in Ellsworth, the daughter of Arthur Murch Jones and Hattie Lucy (Dolloff) Jones. Alice was graduated from Ellsworth High School, Class of 1932 and Farmington Normal School in 1935. After graduating from college, she taught school at Thorndike, Canaan and Ellsworth. She fell in love with her future husband, Jasper L. Tilden, in high school and they were married for 64 years. In 1946, Alice and Jasper started and co-owned the original Brookside Restaurant, Ellsworth. In 1955, they sold out their half ownership to their partner Frank Abram, and they purchased an existing ladies clothing store, The Hat Shoppe on Main Street. Alice eventually owned and ran the store alone when Jasper started Jasper’s Restaurant & Motel, 200 High St., in 1957. In 1963, Alice moved her store to the then new Ellsworth Shopping Center across from the motel on High Street, and changed the name to Alice’s Fashions, Inc. In the early 70s, her daughter, Nancy, became a partner and they sold the business, which was then located on the motel site to an employee in 2000. Alice was 84 when she retired. After Jasper had suffered a massive stroke in 1978, they sold the restaurant and motel in 1980 to their daughter, Nancy and their son-in-law, Benjamin D. Adams. Nancy bought out Ben’s shares in 1992, and continued ownership alone until she sold Jasper’s Restaurant & Motel in 2001 to her son and the Tilden’s grandson, Troy A. Hawkins Adams. Alice, Nancy and Troy celebrated Jasper’s Restaurant’s 50th anniversary this past June with a party at the Grand Theatre. Alice and they were awarded The Top Drawer Award by the Ellsworth Chamber of Commerce in 2006. Alice was always active in the Ellsworth community. She was a charter member of Ellsworth Lioness Club, a member of Hancock County Republican Women’s Club, the first woman to serve on the Chamber of Commerce board of directors. She was a Junior Chamber of Commerce member, vice president of the Women’s Club, Ellsworth Historical Society and Woodlawn Museum member, former Black House trustee. Alice served on the Ellsworth Bi-centennial Committee and when she was young, she joined the Rebekah’s and the Bayside Grange. She was a member of First Congregational Church, Ellsworth, and active still this year singing in the choir and in the church’s Busy Bodies Club. She was a volunteer at the Maine Coast Memorial Hospital, an auxiliary club member and member of Red Hat Society until her passing. Alice received several other awards including Business Woman of the Year, given by the Ellsworth Business and Professional Women’s Club. “In 1983, the Bangor Daily News” honored her as one of 10 outstanding women in Maine. Alice home cared for her husband for 24 years after his stroke in 1978. She loved to dance and did often until she became too ill this summer. She enjoyed traveling and especially cruises. She traveled often in the past 10 years with her family and a friend, Julia Stebbins, to many foreign lands and throughout the U.S. and in earlier years with her husband of 64 years. She loved attending symphony concerts, theatre and shows in New York, London and Las Vegas. Last year, she and her daughter, Nancy, stayed on Hillsboro Mile, Hillsboro Beach, Fla., for four months, which was a long-term goal for both of them. Alice is survived by two daughters, Elizabeth L. (Tilden) Meeks and her husband, H. Benjamin, of Homosassa, Fla., and Nancy J. (Tilden) King and husband, Lawrence F., of Ells-worth; three grandsons, Michael V. Meeks and his wife, Kim, of Blacklick, Ohio, Mark Tilden Meeks and his wife, Nicolettia, of St. Paul, Minn., and Troy A. Hawkins Adams of Ellsworth; two great-grandsons, Jackson Ray Hawkins of Kens-ington, Md., and Joseph Bryan Meeks of St. Paul, Minn.; three nieces, two nephews, several great-nieces, great-nephews, plus many dear friends. In addition to her parents and husband in 2001, Alice was predeceased by sisters, Beatrice E. Jones, Melissa H. Jones, Lt. Col. H. Louise Van Duyne and Christina J. Sommers; and brother, Chester A. Jones. Alice’s life is worthy of a celebration. Visiting hours will be 5-6:30 p.m. Friday, Oct. 26, at Jordan-Fernald, 113 Franklin St., Ellsworth. Please join her family for funeral services 11 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 27, at First Congregational Church, 2 Church St., Ellsworth. There will be a reception immediately after the service at the church. Interment will be held after the reception at Woodbine Cemetery, Ellsworth. Alice loved flowers, but if you prefer contributions in her memory they may be sent to First Congregational Church, 2 Church St., Ellsworth or Ellsworth High School Alumni Association Scholarship Program, P.O. Box 11, Ellsworth, ME 04605. Condolences may be expressed online at www.jordanfernald.com
ALICE G. JONES TILDEN
