MATTHEWS, N.C. – Jill Denise Stanton of Matthews, N.C. passed away on Wednesday, August 30, 2023 following complications from a stroke she suffered two years ago. She was born in Ellsworth on Nov. 21, 1962, the daughter of William and Marjorie Stanton.

She moved to Brunswick, Maine in 1970 and attended school there from fifth grade through high school. She was active in school sports (field hockey, basketball, and softball) during these years. In high school, her teammates elected her captain in all three sports. Upon graduation, she was offered a basketball scholarship at the University of Vermont. She opted to go to Wheaton College in Norton, Mass. instead, where she played on the basketball team. She graduated in 1985 with honors. Her major was psychology.

After Wheaton, Jill moved to Gainesville, Fla. where she took a job as Independent Living Persons Director with The Arc of Alachua County, a local chapter of the National Association for Retarded Citizens. She loved her work and was in turn loved by the persons that she looked after.

She was also deeply loved by her family and friends. She is survived by her husband, Mark Gadbois of Matthews, N.C.; her parents of Bowdoinham; her sister Julie Stanton of Virginia Beach, Va., her sister Jane Driver of Providence, R.I., her sister Joellen McCosh of Yarmouth; her Uncle Robert Stanton of Sarasota, Fla., her Aunt Edna Leary of Saco; and many cousins.

A graveside memorial service at Bayview Cemetery in Bowdoinham will be held for her on Sept. 23 at 2 p.m.

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