Cornelia "Connie" Sieder

Cornelia Brokaw Copeland Sieder, 96, of Quaker Neck, died Monday, November 26, 2012, at Hospice of Queen Anne's in Centreville. Connie was born May 25, 1916, in Roselle Park, NJ, to Bertram Augustus Copeland and Marva Elliott Voorhees Copeland. She grew up in Bound Brook, NJ, and earned her RN degree from Memorial Hospital, Pawtucket, RI, in 1937. The vivacious redhead captured the heart of Dr. Minor C.K. Jones, a research chemical engineer in Baltimore, and the couple married in Bound Brook in 1939. The newlyweds made their home in Mountainside, NJ, where they raised their family until retiring in 1973 to ‘Belle Grove,’ the farm they built on Quaker Neck in the late 1960s. A lifelong New Jersey resident, Connie wondered how she would acclimate to the hot, humid, Chestertown summers and drab winters so dear to her husband. Soon she embraced the rural rhythm and beauty of Eastern Shore seasons and its friendly inhabitants. Connie and Minor became members of First United Methodist Church and developed an abiding interest in Bond Chapel on Quaker Neck Road. Dr. Jones died in 1978. Belle Grove became the center of the Jones family life primarily due to Connie's generous and loving hospitality. An excellent cook, Connie put her organizational skills to work preparing thousands of meals for her large family and their friends. She learned to prepare venison or oyster stew, steam and pick crabs, and bonefish from Langford Creek with the best of them. A talented dressmaker, her needlepoint and crocheted art adorn family furniture and walls. She was a lifelong member of the Daughters of the American Revolution, recently honored for 70 years of service. Connie was dedicated to maintaining physical health through walking and swimming. Her longevity was a testament to her belief in making good nutrition and fitness a life-long habit, to her good humor and steadfast equanimity, and to an inner peace from her abiding Christian faith. In 1980, Connie married Homer R. Sieder, a former New Jersey resident, who had retired to McDaniel, MD. An avid yachtsman, Homer introduced Connie to the adventure of log canoe racing. Connie and Homer enjoyed many years of sailing, log canoeing, traveling, and sharing gracious Eastern Shore hospitality with their many friends in the area. Mr. Sieder died in 2000. Connie Sieder is survived by her cousin, Viola Voorhees Soroka of Venice, FL; her children, M.C. Keith Jones, Jr. and his wife Nancy Dearborn Hight Jones of Portland, ME, Barbara J.R. Jones of San Francisco, CA; a stepdaughter, Aline J. Wankow and her husband Joseph E. Wankow of Bridgewater, NJ, Marva C.M. Jones and her husband Andrew M. Pons of Chestertown, Steven D.W. Jones and his wife Caroline Heptinstall Jones of Lutherville, MD, and Jonathan L.A. Jones and his wife Beverly P. Jones of Chestertown; 13 grandchildren; and 11 great-grandchildren. Funeral services will be private. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made in her memory to Bond Chapel, 6735 Quaker Neck Road, Chestertown, MD 21620, First United Methodist Church, P.O. Box 227, Chestertown, MD 21620, or to a charity of the donor’s choice.

Cornelia "Connie" Sieder

May 25, 1916 - November 26, 2012