After 101 years, H Justine Spaulding has embarked on her final adventure. She was born in 1916 in Calgary, Alberta, Canada to Helen and Jasper O'Connell. At the age of four, she, her three siblings and her parents traveled by train across Canada to immigrate to New York, NY.
Always adventurous, Justine danced, skied, sailed, fenced, studied, worked and summered on Wolfe Island, Kingston, Canada while growing up on Long Island, NY. She married John Farley during WWII. With the hopes of being stationed near her husband, she joined the American Red Cross. However, she was assigned to a station in Guam in the Pacific front while her husband fought in France in the European front. "Never plan” became one of her favorite sayings. This time in her life fine-tuned her zest for daredevil actions and served as a source of astonishing stories.
Divorced and with one daughter she continued to explore, working as an administrative assistant or office manager and living on the east coast from Maine to Florida to New Jersey. In those years, she developed her skill as a tennis player and continued to fence; including winning a competition in Havana, Cuba against the Cuban Women’s Fencing Team before Fidel Castro. Returning to the Northeast, Justine married her second husband, Perry Moore in 1963, somewhat settling in Flemington, NJ until his death.
Justine married Edwin Spaulding in 1981 and found her life mate. Together they skied, played tennis, danced, played bridge, and travelled the world. In 1997, they moved to Warwick, NY to be near Justine's daughter and family. Edwin died in 2003.
She was an active volunteer with Meals on Wheels in Flemington, NJ and the Historic Society in Warwick, NY. She held a flight license for soaring and celebrated her 60th birthday by hang gliding. Justine continued to ski through her 80's and lived independently, fiercely so until age 95.
The family thanks the staff at Schervier Pavilion and especially the Maple Hall nurses and aides for the love and extraordinarily compassionate care given to H Justine Spaulding during her stay.
She leaves her spirit and stories behind with her daughter and son-in-law, Denise Farley Burnell and James Burnell, her grandchildren, and great-grandchild. She is also survived by her sister- in-law, nieces, nephews and friends she met along her journey.
Memorial visitation will be from 3-5 pm Friday, February 2, 2018 at Lazear-Smith & Vander Plaat Memorial Home, 17 Oakland Avenue, Warwick, NY, followed by a Memorial Service at 5:00 pm at the funeral home. Cremation was private and burial will take place in the spring at Warwick Cemetery.
A voracious reader and strong supporter of the library, please donate to the Albert Wisner Library Foundation, One McFarland Drive, Warwick, NY 10990, in lieu of flowers.