ELMER AND VIOLET JONES CELEBRATE 65TH WEDDING ANNIVERSARY

by Naomi Zalabak
Elmer Jones and Violet Sickler were married in Bridgeton, New Jersey on November 3, 1946. Their first date occurred after Violet’s mother twice introduced Violet to Elmer—once by a picture and then in person.
Elmer was a horticulturalist near Trenton, N.J., until they moved to Kettering, Ohio, when Violet was asked to help establish Kettering Memorial Hospital, now Kettering Medical Center. As the head nurse, she admitted the first patient.
Returning to their farm in New Jersey, Elmer started working in the greenhouses at Rowan University. Violet studied for a masters in public health at Loma Linda University while working as a public health nurse and teaching nursing.
For several years, Violet and Elmer visited Florida as snowbirds. In 1976, they moved to Sarasota, then retired in Avon Park in 1992. Violet’s nursing and health education skills gave her opportunities to conduct cooking classes and help more than 1,000 people quit smoking through Stop Smoking clinics. She also served as a church elder, and Elmer served more than 40 years as a deacon.