Elsie Marie Campbell

March 9, 1930 - December 23, 2020

Elsie Marie Campbell, age 90, of Bridgeville, DE, passed away peacefully on Wednesday, December 23, 2020, at Brookdale Senior Living in Dover. She was born on March 9, 1930, in Willis Wharf, VA, daughter of the late Elsie D. Gladden and Lelia M. Hatzel. Elsie held several different positions in her lifetime. She worked as a waitress at two restaurants in Pocomoke City, MD, and was a counter worker in the sewing goods department of J.J. Newberry's in Pocomoke. She was a very compassionate caregiver at Stockley Center in Georgetown, DE, in the Medical Center infant wing. She subsequently worked there as a messenger, then as a seamstress. She retired from Stockley Center after more than 25 years service with the State of Delaware. Elsie was an excellent seamstress, often making her own clothes, or reupholstering a chair, or making replica Cabbage Patch dolls, etc. She also crocheted beautifully. Using her skills in sewing and crocheting, she designed and crocheted her daughter's wedding dress and veil. Ever the music lover, Elsie bought herself a piano and a lesson book and learned how to play on her own. She loved playing old hymns. Reading and working crossword and word search puzzles were her other favorite pastimes. Elsie loved her family dearly and enjoyed whenever they could all get together for a family dinner and during the holidays. In addition to her parents, Elsie was preceded in death by her husband, Willie F. Campbell; her 3 sons: Norman T. Bonnewell Jr., George R. Bonnewell, and John R. Bonnewell; her sisters: Anna E. Bailey and Rosa M. Hayman; and her brother, Almer, H. Gladden. She is survived by her daughter, Linda S. ( William) Grady from Maryville, TN; sister-in-law, Ruth Gladden, Easton, MD; 3 step - daughters, Wanda Griffin, Fruitland, MD, Lois Campbell, Salisbury, MD, and Linda ( Michael) Riggleman, Seaford, DE; and step-son, Harvey ( Robyn) Campbell, from Parsonsburg, MD; 5 grandchildren: David R. Bonnewell, John R. Bonnewell, ll, Daniel P. (Tonya) Grady, Sara L. (Larry) Branham, and Paul W. (Emily) Grady; and 6 step-grandchildren, 14 great-grandchildren, 7 step-great-grandchildren, 5 nephews, and 1 niece. A private service will be held on January 5, 2021, with a private burial following in Springhill Memory Garden in Hebron, MD. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests contributions in Elsie's name to the Wounded Warrior Project, www.woundedwarriorproject.org/donate, or St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, www.stjude.org/donate. Please sign the online guestbook located on the tribute page.