News
Family, Friends Remember Ellie Huson - Atlantic Highlands resident lived a lively 106 years
By Ryan Fennell
ATLANTIC HIGHLANDS - Eleanore Mittlestead Huson of Atlantic Highlands died on October 24 at the age of 106. On Friday, November 6, friends and family gathered at the All Saints Memorial Church in Navesink to remember Huson and celebrate her life that spanned over a century.
Huson was born on October 14, 1903 and spent part of her childhood in pre-World War I London before her family moved to Massachusetts.
After her first husband, William Kothe, died in a drowning accident, Huson married Arthur Huson in 1934.
After spending time living in Morris County and then in Little Silver, Huson moved to Atlantic Highlands with her husband in 1969 and lived there until her death last month. Arthur Huson died in 1987.
After the Friday morning memorial service several of her surviving family members remembered the time spent with Huson and praised the life that she lived.
"I was always happy to be able to call her my great-great aunt because one great wasn't enough," said Maggie Redfern.
Redfern remembered how she and her family would travel down from Massachusetts several times per year to visit with Huson.
"It was great," Redfern said. "We'd sit and talk with her. She'd tell us her memories and her stories."
Redfern currently works at an arboretum in Boston that Huson frequented with her mother when she was a child.
"When she was a child she used to go there and take a carriage ride with her mother during the time the lilacs were in bloom," said Redfern. "So in the spring when I'd visit her I always liked to bring her some lilacs. The smell of the flowers really seemed to bring back or trigger a flood of memories for her."
Redfern's mother, Claudia Redfern, who lives in California, began making yearly visits to Huson 16 years ago, when Huson was 90 years old.
"My life allowed me that opportunity. I would sit and be a friend," said the elder Redfern.
According to Redfern, Huson was a prolific artist who handcrafted and painted greeting cards and holiday cards that she sent out to family and friends. Huson also designed illustrations for the Garden Club newsletter in town.
"She was very much the artist," Redfern said. "She made cards up until about four years ago which is amazing. Well into her 100th year she was still drawing and painting."
Redfern credits Huson with influencing her own appreciation for art through sewing and crafting.
"I can't draw as well but I design and create with fabric. To this day I love to sew and do crafts."
Redfern said that Huson gave her a Singer Featherweight sewing machine approximately four years ago that she cherishes and hopes to use for years to come.
"I had always wanted one and now it's even more special," Redfern said.
The elder Redfern's sisters, Gwen Jones and Trish Cossick, who live in Arizona also made the trip to Huson's memorial.
"As girls growing up we used to go on vacation. Our family destination was to go see Auntie Eleanore," Jones said. "It was fun having Auntie Eleanore as our aunt because she had the wisdom of ages, but yet she had the spirit of a little girl. She never lost her youthful spirit that so many of us hide. There is a lot to be learned from Eleanore. She had a great life and a lot of friends."
"She was a remarkable woman not only in her longevity but in her capacity to entertain you with her stories," Cossick said. "She obviously was a remarkable friend to so many people here in the community. She's going to be sadly missed. We have incredible memories that we can keep with us."
Marco Cuniberti, Huson's only surviving great-nephew, was also in attendance and expressed his belief that Huson was a unique woman.
"She was a matchless woman with unerring perspective on things which was a strength and a comfort to all who knew her," Cuniberti said.
After the memorial ceremony, mourners were invited to join the family at Memphis Pig Out on First Avenue in Atlantic Highlands where Huson was a regular patron.
According to Mark Strassburg, owner of The Memphis Pig Out, Huson had been a regular customer at the BBQ restaurant since it opened over 20 years ago.
"She was a customer of ours since the first day we opened so we got to know her very well," Strassburg said. "She was a wonderful person. She was an extraordinary person. She was just a pleasure to be around. She had a real zest for life."
According to Strassburg, Huson used to walk to and from the restaurant twice per week up until approximately four years ago, when she fell and broken her arm.
Strassburg said since that time he had been picking her up to bring her to the restaurant and bringing her home when she was ready to go.
"For somebody 106, up until the last month or so of her life she was right on the ball and was very alert and knew everything that was going on," said Strassburg. "She just loved telling people about all the events that have happened in her lifetime and the things she had done. Her ability to talk to people, from kids four and five years old, up to adults was just amazing to watch."
"I'd always plan my visits for Wednesday or Friday nights because I knew we'd be going to The Memphis Pig Out," the younger Redfern said. "It was the friends and the support and the community that she really loved about the place."
