Obituary of Mary Ethel Rankin Grieder

Mary Ethel Rankin Grieder, age 93, passed away peacefully at her home "Safe Haven" on Friday morning, May 15, 2015. She was the beloved wife of the late Robert H. Grieder, Sr. who predeceased her in 1982. Mary was born in Deep River on December 27, 1921, the daughter of Robert Kirtland and Marion (Carlson) Rankin. She was a life long resident of Deep River, a community that she truly loved her entire life. Mary was a Postal Clerk at the Deep River Post Office for 32 years, retiring in 1979. She was a member of the First Congregational Church of Deep River and the former Deep River 60 Club where she enjoyed her many trips taken with the club. Mary will be remembered for her creation of many needlework samplers and how she generously gave them as gifts to her family members and friends. She is survived by her daughter, Betty May G. Welles of Brownsville, VT., her son, Robert H. Grieder, Jr. and his wife Barbara of Deep River, her three grandchildren, two step-grandchildren, one great-grandson and two step-great-grandsons, and her many nieces, nephews, and cousins. Besides her husband, Mary was predeceased by her brothers, Donald E. Rankin Sr. and Robert "Dick" Rankin. A memorial service will be held at the First Congregational Church of Deep River, 1 Church Street in Deep River on Saturday, May 30, 2015 at 11:00AM. Her interment service will be privately held by her family in the Memorial Garden of the First Congregational Church of Deep River, Essex Street in Deep River. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made in her name to the First Congregational Church of Deep River, P.O. Box 246, Deep River, CT 06417, the Lower Valley Care Advocates, c/o the Visiting Nurses of the Lower Valley, 61 Main St., Suite #5, Centerbrook, CT 06409 or to the Middlesex Hospital Home Hospice Care, 28 Crescent Street, Middletown, CT 06457. To share a memory of Mary or send a condolence to her family please visit www.rwwfh.com . Arrangements by the Robinson, Wright & Weymer Funeral Home in Centerbrook.