Elsie Underhill

Elsie C. Underhill of Worcester, MA passed away peacefully in her apartment on June 10, 2023.  She was 99 years old.

    Born in Malmberget, Sweden on August 25, 1923, she immigrated to the United States in 1924 with her parents, Paul E. and T. Margareta Carlson.

      After graduating from North High School, she worked as a bank teller at the Worcester County Savings Bank.  She served on the boards of Girls, Inc. and Childrens' Friend Inc. and volunteered at the Worcester Art Museum.

     She was a member of The Worcester Garden Club, the Worcester Art Museum, Tower Hill, Preservation Worcester, Tatnuck Country Club, The Junior League of Worcester, All Saints Episcopal Church, and Saint Francis Episcopal Church and sang in the Worcester Chorus. Elsie and her husbands traveled extensively, visiting six of the seven continents.  For 10 years, she lived at the Willows Retirement Community in Worcester where she was a chorus member and played bridge until she moved at age 98 to Benchmark Assisted Living in Norwood, MA in 2022.  There, she exercised daily and participated in most activities, winning at bingo until just 2 weeks before she died.

    Her husbands Maynard W. Kendall, James T. Wilcox, and John Gorham Underhill predeceased her, as well as her son, Peter B. Wilcox.

    She leaves her children, Sanford C. Kendall of Nantucket, Janet Kendall Johnson and husband, Harold of Ft Collins, CO; J. Thomas Wilcox, Jr and his wife, Cynthia of Dedham, MA; Christopher P. Wilcox and his fiancé, Cinthia Audet of Morrisville, VT and two stepchildren, Janet Delany and husband Michael of Thousand Oaks, CA and Peter Underhill and wife Debbie of Carlsbad, CA.

     She leaves ten grandchildren: Jason Kendall and Peter Kendall, Alexandra Wilcox McMunn and her husband, Ryan, James T. Wilcox III and his wife, Maria, Benjamin Wilcox, William Wilcox, Siobhan Wilcox, Dana Wilcox , Jesse Underhill and Nickolas Underhill.

     Elsie also leaves a sister, Nancy Emery and husband Robert Emery of Cincinnati, OH and many nieces and nephews.  

     A memorial service and burial will be held at Saint Francis Episcopal Church in Holden on, what would have been her 100th birthday, Friday, August 25th at 11:00 AM. A short burial service in the garden outside the church will follow, as well as a lunch reception in the church.

      In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Girls, Inc., 125 Providence St, Worcester, MA 01604 or Saint Francis Episcopal Church, 70 Highland St, Holden, MA 01520.