Mary E Nilsen

Mary E. Nilsen, age 90, died peacefully on June 20, 2013, after a brief stay in hospice.

While living a great deal of her life in Akron, Ohio, she also wintered in Deltona, FL and lived the last five years of her married life in Bucksport, Maine, before returning again to Akron as a resident for the past eleven years.

She was born in the Firestone Park area of Akron, Ohio, moved to New York at age 14 and graduated from Erasmus Hall High in Brooklyn, New York. She then went on to graduate in 1945 from Pratt Institute with a BS in Home Economics. She later added to her college pursuits a BS in Special Education from the University of Akron.

While at Pratt Institute she met her future husband, and after a courtship interrupted at frequent intervals by the Navy, they were married in 1945. While her husband was serving in WWII she worked as a Home Economist for a frozen food company. When back in Akron she helped operate a hardware store at Lockwood Corners for several years. After raising three boys she taught at Fort Island Elementary then later became the Special Education Coordinator for the Copley School system.

Her volunteer activities included organizing kindergarten classes at Lockwood School, working with the Puppet Group while a member of the Junior League of Akron, serving on the Jr. Board of the Florence Crittenden Home, Bath Garden Club, Adult Literacy and Mobile Meals.

Outside of her volunteer efforts her love to be with people coupled with her artistic talents led her to be a member of the American Sewing Guild, Twigs, Bath Good Time Club, Sons of Norway, Bath Volleyball Club, Bath Church Craft Group and the Bath Garden Club.

She loved to cook, sew, garden, read, fish and travel with her family and friends. Oftentimes her traveling was in the form of either camping in tents or vans or through the Elder Hostel program that allowed she and her husband, Larry, to visit Norway. She was deeply devoted to her family and friends and had a gift, along with her husband, of making many friendships no matter what the occasion or residence location. Her five grandchildren were a big part of her life, and she felt especially blessed to become a great grandmother.

Her cooking skills were rivaled only by her painting and sewing talents, and the ability to identify every flower in her garden. Combining her cooking skills with a deep commitment to family traditions, she was very often more Norwegian than her Norway-born husband.

At two different times in her life, separated by living in Maine with her husband, she was deeply involved in the Bath Church Outreach ministries and the friendships she developed while a sewing and painting member of the Bath Church Craft Group.

She was a member of Bath Church, United Church of Christ, The Elm Street Congregational Church in Bucksport, Maine, and Deltona United Church of Christ in Deltona, FL.

Preceded in death by her devoted husband, Laurits, after 56 years of marriage; parents, Willson and Grace (Craig) Smith; sister, Grace Elizabeth (Girdner); son, Thomas Craig; she is survived by sons and daughters-in-law, Robert (Janis) and James (Cheryl); grandchildren, Charles (Tera), Michael (Amy), Melissa (Eric Bentrott), David and Andrew (Jaleen); and great grandchildren, Celia Grace and Simon Thomas Bentrott; along with many beloved cousins and extended family, especially Lois Hanlon who was like a sister to her all her life.

The family wishes to especially thank the staff of the Hospice of Visiting Nurse, Justin T. Rodgers Care Center for their wonderful care and support.

Cremation has taken place. Friends and family will be welcomed at calling hours Thursday, June 27th from 4 to 7 pm at the Billow FAIRLAWN Chapel, 85 North Miller Rd, Fairlawn, and on Friday, June 28th at a 2:00 pm Memorial service at Bath Church, United Church of Christ, 3980 W. Bath Road, Akron, Ohio 44333. The family will also receive friends immediately following the memorial service. The family asks that, in lieu of flowers, memorial gifts be sent to: Bath Church, United Church of Christ; BSA Great Trail Council, PO Box 1601, Akron, OH, 44309; or Hospice of Visiting Nurse, c/o Akron General Development Foundation, 400 Wabash Ave., Akron , OH 44307-2463. (Billow FAIRLAWN Chapel)