Shelburne Falls, MA – Beloved wife and mother Jill Elaine Selleck of Shelburne Falls died unexpectedly on May 22, peacefully and surrounded by her family. She was born December 11, 1951 on a dairy farm in Mountain Lake, Pennsylvania.
Jill graduated from Penn State University and Elmira (NY) college. She was an award-winning florist and business woman in Towanda PA. She was active in the Towanda Area Chamber of Commerce Revitalization Committee, and played a key role in the restoration of an 1886 opera house, now the Keystone Theater. Later moving to New Jersey, she worked in social services and taught middle school math. Of all the places she lived, she left the biggest part of her heart in Maplewood NJ.
Jill was an activist for LGBTQ rights, and served on the board of directors for Family Equality. She was instrumental in creating the first “Family Week” in Provincetown MA, now in it’s 32st year, and the largest annual gathering of LGBTQ+ families in the world. Jill and her family were profiled on NBC Nightly News and in the Newark (NJ) Star Ledger.
Jill loved sports, watching them and playing them. She was a letter athlete in college and loved to watch the Penn State Nittany Lions and the Boston Celtics. She was a skilled potter and enjoyed creating raku. She spent many happy hours in her gardens where there was always something new and different to plant and nurture. She was an excellent cook who loved feeding her family and friends. She treasured dogs throughout her life.
She was predeceased by her mother, Alma Norton Selleck and her father, Robert Aaron Selleck Sr.
Survivors include her wife, Victoria Selleck, her sons Richard (Sarah O’Brien) and Clay, her siblings Jean Seeley (Dennis), Robert Selleck Jr (Edith) and Jeff Selleck (Jenelle), many nieces and nephews including Emily Flemming (Chelsea Pro) and Cleo Flemming (Arlee Hiskey) and a large chosen family including James Hohman & Paul Daher, Kathy McEnerney & Valerie Onorata, Stephen Mershon & Ken Cobb, Steve Nasuti & Paul Squires, Elizabeth & Jim Sokoloski.
Donations in Jill’s memory may be made to Rowe Camp and Conference Center (rowecenter.org) and the Bridge of Flowers in Shelburne Falls (bridgeofflowersmass.org).
There will be a memorial service later this summer.
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