Ashbell Victoria Saunders

July 10, 1929 - December 30, 2021

Ashbelle Victoria Saunders (nee Maloney), age 92 of Kendall Park, N.J. passed away on December 30, 2021. She was born in Spring Hill, Portland, Jamaica to Samuel and Mary Maloney. In Jamaica, she attended Birnamwood School and St. Monica’s College. In 1954, she was accepted into nursing school at National Temperance Hospital in London, England. After graduating as a state registered nurse there, Ashbelle entered midwifery school at West Essex Hospital in London and became a certified midwife. In 1956, at the West Indian Student Center in London, Ashbelle met Shelton Steven Saunders who she married two years later. Their marriage produced four children. Ashbelle and Shelton lived in England for eighteen years as she furthered her nursing career while working in several hospitals in Greater London. In 1972, Ashbelle and Shelton moved their family to Kingston, Jamaica in order to help care for her father. While in Jamaica, Ashbelle worked at University Hospital of the West Indies in Kingston. The Saunders family became residents of the United States in November of 1979. In the United States, Ashbelle worked as a nurse in several hospitals in New York including Saint Luke’s Hospital, Lincoln Hospital and Columbia Presbyterian Hospital. Ashbelle is survived by three of their four children: Steven with his wife Lisa, Jacqueline and Yvonne; one sister Norma Claire; two brothers Orville Clive with his wife Pat and Donald with his wife Diana; seven grandchildren: Michelle, Grace, Michael, Christopher, David, Cierra and Jaden; and loving cousins, nieces and nephews. Ashbelle is predeceased by her parents Samuel and Mary, her husband Shelton, her daughter Carol and four sisters Pauline, Irlene (Lynn), Merle and Sylvia. Ashbelle was a devoted wife and mother who loved being surrounded by family, sharing family history, telling jokes, singing hymns, listening to Big Band & Jamaican Mento music, dancing, journaling, playing the piano, making desserts and baking. Visitation, Friday, January 14, 2022, 4:00 PM - 8:00 PM, Saturday, January 15, 9:00 AM - 9:30 AM followed by Funeral Service at Christ Episcopal Church at 10:00 AM and Interment at Rosedale Cemetery, Montclair, NJ. Funeral Service will be LIVESTREAM from the Church at 10:00 AM on Saturday, January 15 on Van Tassel Funeral Home FACEBOOK page. If you miss the Service, you can watch at a later time on Van Tassel Funeral Home Media channel on YouTube. In lieu of flowers, please consider sending a donation to Christ Church: https://christchurchepiscopal.org/ Per family request anyone attending services must wear a mask.