Fiercely independent Shelburne woman started her own physical therapy business, loved travel and the arts
Priscilla Jackson, 85, died peacefully on November 23, 2022, at Wake Robin in Shelburne, Vt., with her family holding her close. Priscilla was born in Beverly, Mass., on May 5, 1937, to parents Barbara Sinclair and E. Randall Jackson. She grew up in Danvers, Mass., and graduated from the University of Connecticut in 1960 with a bachelor’s degree in physical therapy. She married David Glendinning and raised three children in Southwest Harbor and Waterville, Maine. In 1987, she married her second husband, Ralph Atwood, and they enjoyed 10 full and happy years together in Oakland, Maine, before his death. After more than 50 years in Maine, Priscilla moved to Vermont in 2013 to be closer to her family. Priscilla taught those she knew how to be kind and curious. Right up to her final days, she was an exceptional listener who could engage just about anyone in interesting conversation, just by asking a question and truly listening to the response. She took tremendous joy in appreciating and supporting the endeavors of her children and grandchildren and was immensely proud of all of them. Priscilla was their biggest fan. Priscilla was strong and fiercely independent. As a single woman, she was proud to successfully start and run her own physical therapy business to treat children with disabilities and to purchase her own house at a time in her life that required strength and courage. She amazed friends and family with her adventurous travel all over the world. Priscilla rode elephants and trekked in Nepal, hiked and camped in the Grand Canyon and admired the art and architecture in St. Petersburg, Russia. More locally, Priscilla loved exploring the Maine outdoors. She spent many happy days camping with her family in Baxter State Park, skiing at Saddleback Mountain and kayaking and canoeing around the Belgrade lakes. Priscilla was a lifelong lover and supporter of the arts. She took numerous art history courses at Colby College as an adult and volunteered as a docent at the Colby Museum of Art. She enjoyed any museum or gallery and would never pass up the opportunity to attend a concert, opera or eccentric foreign film —the more eccentric, the better. She was a vibrant and active member of the Wake Robin Retirement community in Shelburne. She met some of the “best friends of her life” at Wake Robin, where she could be found sharing a glass…
Fiercely independent Shelburne woman started her own physical therapy business, loved travel and the arts
Priscilla Jackson, 85, died peacefully on November 23, 2022, at Wake Robin in Shelburne, Vt., with her family holding her close. Priscilla was born in Beverly, Mass., on May 5, 1937, to parents Barbara Sinclair and E. Randall Jackson. She grew up in Danvers, Mass., and graduated from the University of Connecticut in 1960 with a bachelor’s degree in physical therapy. She married David Glendinning and raised three children in Southwest Harbor and Waterville, Maine. In 1987, she married her second husband, Ralph Atwood, and they enjoyed 10 full and happy years together in Oakland, Maine, before his death. After more than 50 years in Maine, Priscilla moved to Vermont in 2013 to be closer to her family. Priscilla taught those she knew how to be kind and curious. Right up to her final days, she was an exceptional listener who could engage just about anyone in interesting conversation, just by asking a question and truly listening to the response. She took tremendous joy in appreciating and supporting the endeavors of her children and grandchildren and was immensely proud of all of them. Priscilla was their biggest fan. Priscilla was strong and fiercely independent. As a single woman, she was proud to successfully start and run her own physical therapy business to treat children with disabilities and to purchase her own house at a time in her life that required strength and courage. She amazed friends and family with her adventurous travel all over the world. Priscilla rode elephants and trekked in Nepal, hiked and camped in the Grand Canyon and admired the art and architecture in St. Petersburg, Russia. More locally, Priscilla loved exploring the Maine outdoors. She spent many happy days camping with her family in Baxter State Park, skiing at Saddleback Mountain and kayaking and canoeing around the Belgrade lakes. Priscilla was a lifelong lover and supporter of the arts. She took numerous art history courses at Colby College as an adult and volunteered as a docent at the Colby Museum of Art. She enjoyed any museum or gallery and would never pass up the opportunity to attend a concert, opera or eccentric foreign film —the more eccentric, the better. She was a vibrant and active member of the Wake Robin Retirement community in Shelburne. She met some of the “best friends of her life” at Wake Robin, where she could be found sharing a glass…