Jacqueline R. (Roy) Elliott

Jacqueline (Roy) Elliott, age 67, of Otis, MA passed away on Valentine's Day, February 14, 2021 at Wingate Residences at Melbourne after a courageous battle with Alzheimer's Disease.
Jackie was born in November of 1953 in Adams, MA, daughter of the late James E. and Nancy (Levesque) Roy. She was a 1971 graduate of Hoosac Valley High School and then went on to earn her Associate Degree in Physical Education from Berkshire Community College in 1973. Continuing her education, Jackie graduated from New England Deaconess Hospital School of Nursing in 1976 with her Nursing Diploma and later earned her Bachelor of Science Degree in Nursing from the University of Massachusetts in 1988.
Jackie married Jon Elliott in October of 1983 in Charlemont, MA and they marked their 37th wedding anniversary this past fall. First and foremost in Jackie's life was her family and she devoted herself to being a consummate mom to her two beloved sons Justin and Daniel. Together the family hiked and explored the outdoors, traveled on family vacations which Jackie loved to plan and organize, and took ocean vacations up and down the East coast from Cape Cod to Myrtle Beach. The family hiked many of the Adirondack High Peaks using as a base the family cottage on the shores of Lake Champlain, where Jackie would do daily swims to a lake buoy and back, a mile round trip!
Jackie was also an avid "team mother" for the Taconic cross country running and ski teams while her sons were at Taconic High School. She rarely missed a meet or race for their entire high school years- and her voice could always be heard above all the others cheering on all the athletes.
In her professional life Jackie was so proud to have been a Registered Nurse and spent her career, which started in 1977, working for Berkshire Health Systems. A fast and eager learner, Jackie held positions in IV Therapy, as an Emergency Department nurse and finally as a clinician at the Neighborhood Health Center where she became a respected STD specialist in the county and also across the state. She earned many awards and citations throughout her career, and was featured in numerous Berkshire Eagle articles and professional publications. She was not just a local authority on STDs but was also a sought after speaker at state and national conferences, focusing on her extensive knowledge and dedication to the emerging field of STDs in public health. Jackie was especially well known in Berkshire County and the state for her work during the AIDs epidemic of the 80s and 90s. She was a popular speaker and educator in the field of AIDs and STD awareness and treatment, and she spoke at hundreds of schools and medical conferences before her retirement in 2015.
Additionally, Jackie worked collaboratively for years with local physicians and the Anti-TB Society toward the goal of eradicating the resurgence of tuberculosis as a serious public health threat in Massachusetts. She was a longtime member of several professional honor societies, including Sigma Theta Tau and Alpha Sigma Lambda and these honors were accompanied by other citations ranging from Massachusetts Senate proclamations to letters of recognition from local officials and educators.
In addition to her husband Jon, Jackie is survived by her two sons, Daniel Elliott of Burlington, VT, Justin Elliott and his wife Cori of North Andover, MA, and her granddaughter, Noelle Elliott. She also leaves her sisters, Michelle Bonura of Wading River, NY, and nephews Kyle Bonura and Devin Bonura, Jamie Coyne and her husband Dr. Michael Coyne of Pittsfield, and nephew Dr. Conor Coyne, brothers Scott Roy, Dana Roy and his wife Lee Ann, her uncle, Walter Levesque and his wife Karen, all of Adams, her aunt, Nancy Guerino of North Adams, and her best friend from childhood, Barbara Jzyk Lawson.
The family wishes to extend their gratitude and thanks to Cara Holcomb and the caring staff at Wingate Residences at Melbourne Place, as well as the caring and supportive team at Hospice of Western and Central MA. These organizations offered unlimited care and support as the family went through the difficult days of Jackie's illness. They are angels all.
Services: Due to COVID-19, a Memorial Service and celebration of life will be held in the Spring when family and friends can again safely gather. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations in Jackie's memory may be made payable to: "Berkshire Natural Resource Council", whose trails were Jackie's special places during her long illness, in care of the Devanny-Condron Funeral Home, 40 Maplewood Ave. Pittsfield, MA 01201