As her obituary shows, she was an amazing woman. May her memory be a blessing.
Jocelyn Felicia Moreland Robinson died peacefully at home April 15, 2017, after a long bout with ovarian cancer. She was surrounded by her husband, David E. Robinson, close friends and family.
She was the daughter of William D. Moreland Jr. and Jocelyn Felicia Kingsbury Moreland. Felicia was born on Dec. 29, 1955, in Aruba, Netherlands Antilles, where her father was consul general for the United States. By the time she was 6, Felicia was already a citizen of the world, having lived in Aruba, Ecuador and Washington, D.C.; this later inspired her to travel to Lebanon (a trip Felicia took with a friend when she was just 14), England, France, Peru (where she visited Machu Picchu), Ecuador, Denmark, the South Pacific, Germany, Austria, many Caribbean islands and Russia, the birthplace of her adopted daughter, Tonya E. Robinson.
When not roaming the world, Felicia racked up an impressive number of academic degrees. A graduate of The Thomas School (established by her maternal great aunt, Mabel Thomas), in Rowayton, Conn., Felicia earned degrees from Brown University (majoring in medieval French literature), Boston University School of Nursing and Yale University (a master’s degree in midwifery) and advanced midwifery studies in London, England. With her command of French she was in great demand as a midwife in the Haitian community of Boston.Her home base was, for many years, her rambling home Graycote, in Rowayton, Conn., on land sloping down to Wilson Cove that had belonged to her family since just after the U.S. Civil War. There Felicia gained her love of sailing — a lifelong passion. There also Felicia, at age 16, established the Graycote Summer Camp, which she ran from 1972 until she graduated from Brown; the parents of small children entrusted those precious beings to a teenaged girl because … she was Felicia.
She lived in Cambridge, Mass., for many years before her marriage. Before settling in Keene, together she and David lived in Burlington, Vt.; Hollis, Amherst and Nashua; and Lunenburg, Nova Scotia. She shared every home with her beloved pets: dogs, birds and cats. Felicia loved dance parties, was mad about The Beatles and Calypso, and laughing long and hard. A walk on the beach was as much a joy to er as a good piece of chocolate.
From the Caribbean Sea to Lake Spofford, nothing was sweeter than being by the water. She loved with an open heart and an open mind — and she was loved right back, as the outpouring of love on her Facebook page attests.After earlier service at Boston City Hospital ER, Felicia was a certified nurse midwife for many years; she was the director of the Cambridge (Mass.) Midwifery Clinic and with others founded Full Circle Midwifery in Nashua. She was later a nurse manager at Valley Regional Hospital in Claremont and at Cheshire Medical Center.
She was a member of Keene Unitarian Universalist Church. Felicia was steadfast in her dedication to family and commitment to her children, William and Tonya, whom she loved beyond measure. In addition to her husband and children, Felicia is survived by her brothers, Jonathan T. Moreland of Vancouver, Wash., and Daniel D. Moreland of Lunenburg, Nova Scotia, Canada; her sister-friends, Jean Kelley of Cambridge, Mass., and Elizabeth Hilts of Norwalk, Conn.
A memorial service for Felicia will be held at Keene Unitarian Universalist Church on June 10, 2017, at 3 p.m.
In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made to Home Healthcare Hospice and Community Services, 312 Marlborough St., Keene.
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