Obituary of Elsie Kimble

Elsie Marie Kimble of Tierra Verde passed away at home on July 17, 2021.  She was 89 years old.  Born in Paterson, NJ, her early years were spent in Paterson and North Haledon, NJ.  Later, she and her beloved husband, Dick, lived in Wayne, NJ for 45 years, summering in Truro, MA for 43 of those years before settling full-time in Florida.  Elsie attended Upsala College where she majored in education and guidance counseling and later went on to earn a Master of Arts degree at Montclair State College.  She always spoke fondly of her students at Wayne Junior High School and Lakeside (Pompton Lakes) Middle School and enjoyed the challenges of preparing them for the tasks and trials that lay ahead of them.  In retirement, after her teaching/counseling career, Elsie continued to excel in new activities.  She took pilot lessons when Dick learned to fly to ably assist him if the need arose.  She began playing golf in earnest and on September 1, 1999 posted a hole-in-one at the Chequessett Yacht and Country Club in Wellsfleet, MA.  She also honed her cooking skills by volunteering as a Chef’s assistant at a cooking school in a local market.  She became a gourmet cook who, with her husband, enjoyed planning and hosting feasts for relatives, visiting guests, friends, and neighbors.  Whether in New Jersey, a New York Giant’s (or as Elsie called them, “New Jersey Giant’s”) tailgate party, Cape Cod, or Florida, she was always cooking something and sharing it with those lucky enough to be around.  In Florida, she continued to be an active member of her community.  She was a member of the Isla del Sol Yacht and Country Club where she enjoyed golfing and participating in the women’s association “Girlfriends,” as well as playing Gin Rummy, doing water aerobics, and of course watching the Tampa Bay Rays.  Elsie lived a full life, caring deeply about her family, friends, neighbors, and students and was always proud to be the wife of a U.S. Marine.

Elsie was predeceased by her husband of 55 years, Richard E. Kimble; her parents, John and Mary Bollinger and her brother, John A. Bollinger.  She is survived by four nieces, Ellen Wang of The Villages, FL, Virginia (Christopher Hamilton) Bollinger of Naples, FL, Teresa (Donald) Burns, of Englewood, FL, Judy (George) Dyer of Tierra Verde, FL and one nephew, Hugh “Cam” (Deborah) Lendrim, of Lexington, SC. 

A memorial service will be held at St. John Vianney Catholic Church in St. Petersburg on Tuesday, November 16, 2021 at 11am followed by an inurnment at Bay Pines National Cemetery at 1pm.  In lieu of flowers, the family requests memorial donations can be made to Johns Hopkins All Children’s Foundation (JHAC) at JHACF, P.O. Box 3142, St. Petersburg, FL 33731-3142 along with a note referencing the donation is in memory of Elsie Kimble.  Credit card donations can be made over the phone by calling 727-767-2373 or on their website by clicking here.