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Samuel Robert Jelley

Samuel Robert “Bob” Jelley, 93, died peacefully in his Guilford home on Jan. 3, 2024. The only child of Samuel Jelley and Magdalen Holweg Jelley, he grew up in Orange, New Jersey.

Bob graduated from Orange (New Jersey) High School and then Phi Beta Kappa from Dartmouth College, where he received a master’s degree from its Thayer School of Engineering. He attended Officer Candidate School and served in the Navy Civil Engineer Corps at Port Lyautey in Morocco, where he forged a number of lifelong friendships. Back in the States, Bob lived for several years in New York City, working for the engineering firm Howard Needles designing entrance ramps for the Washington, D.C. beltway, and spent his winter weekends skiing with friends. On one fateful ski trip, he met his future wife, Elizabeth “Betsy” Brown. They soon married and relocated to Cambridge, Massachusetts, so Bob could attend Harvard Law School. Upon graduation, he joined the law firm of Wiggin and Dana in New Haven, where he practiced law as he practiced life, with enthusiasm and bringing a unique way of looking at everything. He was a smart and interesting person, finding insightful and fresh approaches to complicated problems.

Bob and Betsy settled in Guilford in the spring of 1963, where they raised their three children. He was involved in the founding of the Guilford Land Conservation Trust and served on the boards of a variety of local organizations. They took advantage of the many cultural and outdoor activities that Guilford offers, taking painting lessons with the local artist Madeleine Sharrer Poland, swimming at Jacob’s Beach, and hiking in the West Woods. Bob was a lover of food and an ardent cook. One year, he made 52 different English puddings in 52 weeks.

He loved New York City, maintaining an apartment there for over twenty years, where Bob and Betsy attended the Metropolitan Opera, saw dance performances, went to gallery openings and attended museum exhibitions, as well as supporting avant-garde theater. Bob and Betsy traveled extensively in Europe. Deep into their 80s, they hiked in Switzerland or the French Pyrenees for a month each year. Bob had an inquisitive mind and a Renaissance approach to all he did — whether art, architecture, or hanging pictures at Wiggin and Dana.

Robert is survived by family and friends, including children Sarah (Jack Miller), William (Skip Barbour), and Peter (Jill); grandsons Samuel and Caleb; and step-granddaughters Megan and Sydney Dood. The family is enormously grateful to longtime caregivers Dolly Mwezeni and Susan Brookshire. Bob was preceded in death by his wife, Elizabeth.