Constance E. Eckstrom, 89
Dateline: Norton, MA
Constance Ellen (Wetzell) Eckstrom entered eternity with Jesus on Saturday, Dec. 17, surrounded by her family at her home in Norton and at peace in the arms of the Savior she loved. She was 89 and surrendered to an illness that had sapped her strength but not her spirit.
Connie radiated kindness that was animated by a deep and abiding faith in God. The love and gentle compassion that she showed to others was a reflection of the love she found in Jesus and in daily devotion to prayer and Bible study.
Countless people delighted in her simple acts of tenderness and thoughtfulness, from a hand-knit sweater for a new mother to a delivery of her famous Swedish coffee bread. Her generosity and sense of joy was reflected in the bounties of her kitchen and in small gestures of hospitality.
As the proud daughter and granddaughter of Swedish immigrants, she maintained a lifelong love for all things Swedish and traveled to Sweden three times to meet her extended relatives. The old hymns of the church gave voice to her faith and shaped the soundtrack of her life. She found great joy in gardening, knitting and baking.
She was born Sept. 12, 1933, the youngest daughter of Arvid and Ingrid Wetzell of Brockton. Her childhood was shaped by the hardships of the Great Depression and a close-knit community of Swedish immigrants who gathered at Trinity Baptist Church. She graduated from Brockton High School, and later educated as a Registered Nurse from New England Deaconess Hospital School of Nursing in Boston.
She pursued her nursing career at the Veterans Administration hospitals and in private home care, but the profession she loved most was as a devoted mother to the five children she raised in South Easton with her husband of 43 years, the late Kenneth D. Eckstrom, Sr.
She nearly lost her life in 1998 in a car accident that claimed the life of her husband. But through her grief and physical pain, she devoted herself to the care and tending of other widows. She became a grief coach and a commissioned Stephen Minister, with a special capacity for helping other women find hope and consolation in the midst of loss.
Connie was a longtime resident of South Easton before moving to Taunton and, finally, Norton. She faithfully attended The Fellowship in South Easton and prayed daily for missionaries around the globe. Until 2020, she was a seasonal resident of Pine Island, Fla., and a member of Pine Island United Methodist Church, and of Bridgton, Maine, and attended the Bridgton Alliance Church.
She is survived by her brother, Howard Wetzell, of Silver Spring, Md., and her five children: Karen Clark (Paul) of Charlotte, N.C.; Kristine Avery (Danny) of Union, Maine; Kenneth D. Eckstrom Jr. (Brenda) of Wareham, Mass.; Karl Eckstrom (Robin) of Shrewsbury, Mass.; and Kevin Eckstrom (Grant Montgomery) of Washington, D.C.; and her grandchildren Jessica, Mariah, Hannah, Sarah, Abigail, Victoria, Kennedy, Joel, Gustav, Alton, Amanda, Candice and Shaun; and great-grandchildren Jakob, Linnea, Everett, Julia, Olivia, Dominic, Owen, Delilah, Wyatt, Lincoln, Margeaux, Koen and Stellamarie, and numerous beloved nieces and nephews.. She was preceded in death by her parents, her husband and her sisters Barbara Lindroth and Lorraine Wetzell.
Relatives and friends are cordially invited to attend visiting hours on Thursday, Jan. 5th from 4:00-7:00 P.M. at Sherman & Jackson Funeral Home, 55 North Main Street, Mansfield.
A funeral service in celebration of and thanksgiving for her life will be held Friday, Jan. 6th at 10 a.m. at The Fellowship, 604 Foundry Street, South Easton, with burial immediately following at Pine Hill Cemetery in West Bridgewater.
In lieu of flowers, the family would welcome memorial gifts to either pediatric diabetes research at Joslin Diabetes Center in Boston (joslin.org), or The Fellowship missions fund in South Easton, Mass. (thefellowshiponline.org).
To send her family a message of condolence, please visit www.shermanjackson.com