Theresa Purcell Cone
Join us in celebrating Theresa—please share your stories and photos, and help spread the word about this page!
Hartland, VT - If you listen, you will hear children playing in the backyard. Theresa was the organizer - placing the blankets on the clothesline, assigning roles for her sister and the neighborhood kids to play, and, finally, directing the performance. She lived her life through dance and movement and shared that love with all she met. Theresa Purcell Cone, 69, died early Friday morning, September 27, 2019 at the Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center in Lebanon, NH. She was born June 30, 1950 in Trenton, NJ the daughter of Mark and Sophia (Sokolowski) Purcell. She and her husband, Stephen L Cone, lived in Hartland, VT.
Theresa grew up in Hamilton, NJ and graduated from Hamilton West HS, where she was the school Hornet mascot (I know you can see her in that role). She continued her education at Trenton State College/The College of New Jersey (on the Wall of Fame) and Temple University receiving her Ph.D. in 2002. She taught for 44 years in the South Brunswick, NJ schools and at Rowan University, Glassboro, NJ, where she retired in 2016 as a Professor Emeritus. She grew up in New Jersey (she will always be part Jersey girl) but had become a true Vermonter residing in Hartland.
Theresa and her husband, Steve, were the perfect, inseparable, pair. They were wife and husband, best friends, professional collaborators, travel companions, parents and grandparents - true soulmates. They wrote and presented books, articles, presentations, and designed art installations, table settings (and spontaneous napkin folding), interior design, and travel itineraries (they visited 87 countries and loved to visit the kids).
Professionally, Theresa was president of many organizations including the National Dance Association, where she was the first National Dance Educator of the Year and received Honor Awards at all levels. She loved teaching dance and did so in elementary schools and at Rowan University (those she taught will remember, "when in doubt, knee bounce"). She was on the Special Olympics New Jersey Board of Trustees and also taught for the American Repertory Ballet Company for 20 years.
She is survived by her mother, Sophia Purcell of Hamilton, NJ, her husband Stephen L. Cone of Hartland, VT, three daughters, Amy Glidden (Ryan) of Valrico, FL, Lisa Cone (Corrado) also of Valrico, FL, Meredith Cone of Seattle, WA, son, Timothy Cone (Emily) of Philadelphia, PA, grandson, Mason Glidden of Valrico, FL, sister, Patricia P. Aguilar (Paul) of Bernalillo, NM, nephew Andrew Aguilar of Los Angeles, CA., other dear relatives and countless friends. She was the daughter-in-law of Marjorie and Warren Cone, late of Hartland.
A Celebration of Life will be held next spring. Memorial contributions may be made to Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) Association. Please share a moment at an online guest book at www.knightfuneralhomes.com. The Knight Funeral Home in Windsor, VT is assisting with arrangements.