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March 4, 2013
Services
Friends may visit with the family at the Vander May Wayne Colonial Funeral Home, 567 Ratzer Road, Wayne, on Sunday, March 10, 2013 from 2-5 PM.
Funeral Services will be held on Monday, March 11, 2013, 10:00 AM at St. Timothy Lutheran Church, 395 Valley Road, Wayne. Interment will follow at Hillside Cemetery, Lyndhurst.
Grace Allen Flanders, age 96, died peacefully on Monday, March 4, 2013.
Grace was the eldest of two children born to Adna and Madeline Morris on August 1, 1916 in New York City. She grew up in the Bronx.
As a young woman Grace attended the Holy Comforter Lutheran Church on Woodycrest Avenue in the Bronx. One Sunday, the minister’s son, a fine young man named Clifford Flanders, asked her out. Their first date, to the Russian Tea Room on 150 West 57th Street, was followed by many others and ultimately the couple married on May 29, 1938 at the same church where they met. After a honeymoon in Washington, D.C. the happy newlyweds settled in Raleigh, NC so that Cliff could pursue his doctorate from North Carolina State University. While living there, Grace and Cliff welcomed their firstborn child – a daughter named Edith. Soon after her birth, this family of three moved to Louisville, KY so that Cliff could continue his education at the University of Louisville. While there, Grace gave birth to their second child – another little girl which they named Grace. Mom and the children followed Dad one more time, this time to Morgantown, WV where Cliff finished the pursuit of his doctorate at the University of West Virginia. While there, Grace and Cliff welcomed two more children - a baby girl that they named Ruth and a baby boy which they named Clifford.
Following Cliff’s graduation, the family moved north again and settled in Packanack Lake – a place they would call home for 45 years. Grace began to attend Paterson State College (now called William Paterson University) in pursuit of her bachelor of arts degree in education. With the added responsibility of raising her four dear children, the quest for higher education had its challenges but Grace ultimately did receive her degree and soon settled into a long and rewarding career with the Montville Schools. In the early part of her career she taught at the elementary level, but when her husband Cliff’s work necessitated a move to Ohio for a year, Grace attended classes at Ohio State University and received her master’s degree. When she returned to the Montville Schools she rounded out her twenty-year career teaching at the high school level before retiring in 1982. While there, she especially enjoyed being involved in teaching the students drama.
Along with Cliff, Grace enjoyed a wonderful retirement traveling all over the world together. What made it especially wonderful was that Cliff always did all the preparations right down to packing Grace’s suitcase!
Grace had an unquenchable thirst for knowledge! She loved to read books from a wide range of genres and authors and seldom found a book she didn’t like. Throughout the years, she was a member and often times, a discussion leader of many book clubs.
One book that Grace could often be seen reading was her Holy Bible. A woman of great faith in God, she also led many Bible discussions throughout her life, most recently at Crane’s Mill Retirement Community in West Caldwell which she called home since 1998. Grace was a founding and charter member of St. Timothy Lutheran Church on Valley Road in Wayne. The church actually got started in Grace and Cliff’s house on Beechwood Drive in Packanack Lake in the late 1950’s!
Because of Grace’s love for theater and drama she often enjoyed watching Masterpiece Theater on Sunday nights. She often felt a pull back to her childhood roots in New York City and she would frequently take trips there to see Broadway shows and visit the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Grace was also known to wear out many a deck of cards playing solitaire and should seldom missed watching Wheel of Fortune or Jeopardy.
Surviving are her three daughters: Edith Lambert (William) of Middleville, NJ, Grace Schmeelcke (Robert) of Salem, SC, and Ruth Williams (Donald) of Burke, VA; her one son Clifford A. Flanders (David Taylor) of New York City; her five grandchildren: William Lambert, Matthew Lambert, Kristen Ittig, Rob Schmeelcke, and Jessie English; and three great-grandchildren: Thomas, Brock and Ainsley. She was predeceased by her beloved husband Clifford in 1999.
In lieu of flowers, as expressions of sympathy, if friends so wish, donations may be made in Grace’s memory to St. Timothy Lutheran Church.
If you would like to send a private condolence directly to the family use this condolence section.
Friends may visit with the family at the Vander May Wayne Colonial Funeral Home, 567 Ratzer Road, Wayne, on Sunday, March 10, 2013 from 2-5 PM.
Funeral Services will be held on Monday, March 11, 2013, 10:00 AM at St. Timothy Lutheran Church, 395 Valley Road, Wayne. Interment will follow at Hillside Cemetery, Lyndhurst.
March 4, 2013
Services
Friends may visit with the family at the Vander May Wayne Colonial Funeral Home, 567 Ratzer Road, Wayne, on Sunday, March 10, 2013 from 2-5 PM.
Funeral Services will be held on Monday, March 11, 2013, 10:00 AM at St. Timothy Lutheran Church, 395 Valley Road, Wayne. Interment will follow at Hillside Cemetery, Lyndhurst.
Grace Allen Flanders, age 96, died peacefully on Monday, March 4, 2013.
Grace was the eldest of two children born to Adna and Madeline Morris on August 1, 1916 in New York City. She grew up in the Bronx.
As a young woman Grace attended the Holy Comforter Lutheran Church on Woodycrest Avenue in the Bronx. One Sunday, the minister’s son, a fine young man named Clifford Flanders, asked her out. Their first date, to the Russian Tea Room on 150 West 57th Street, was followed by many others and ultimately the couple married on May 29, 1938 at the same church where they met. After a honeymoon in Washington, D.C. the happy newlyweds settled in Raleigh, NC so that Cliff could pursue his doctorate from North Carolina State University. While living there, Grace and Cliff welcomed their firstborn child – a daughter named Edith. Soon after her birth, this family of three moved to Louisville, KY so that Cliff could continue his education at the University of Louisville. While there, Grace gave birth to their second child – another little girl which they named Grace. Mom and the children followed Dad one more time, this time to Morgantown, WV where Cliff finished the pursuit of his doctorate at the University of West Virginia. While there, Grace and Cliff welcomed two more children - a baby girl that they named Ruth and a baby boy which they named Clifford.
Following Cliff’s graduation, the family moved north again and settled in Packanack Lake – a place they would call home for 45 years. Grace began to attend Paterson State College (now called William Paterson University) in pursuit of her bachelor of arts degree in education. With the added responsibility of raising her four dear children, the quest for higher education had its challenges but Grace ultimately did receive her degree and soon settled into a long and rewarding career with the Montville Schools. In the early part of her career she taught at the elementary level, but when her husband Cliff’s work necessitated a move to Ohio for a year, Grace attended classes at Ohio State University and received her master’s degree. When she returned to the Montville Schools she rounded out her twenty-year career teaching at the high school level before retiring in 1982. While there, she especially enjoyed being involved in teaching the students drama.
Along with Cliff, Grace enjoyed a wonderful retirement traveling all over the world together. What made it especially wonderful was that Cliff always did all the preparations right down to packing Grace’s suitcase!
Grace had an unquenchable thirst for knowledge! She loved to read books from a wide range of genres and authors and seldom found a book she didn’t like. Throughout the years, she was a member and often times, a discussion leader of many book clubs.
One book that Grace could often be seen reading was her Holy Bible. A woman of great faith in God, she also led many Bible discussions throughout her life, most recently at Crane’s Mill Retirement Community in West Caldwell which she called home since 1998. Grace was a founding and charter member of St. Timothy Lutheran Church on Valley Road in Wayne. The church actually got started in Grace and Cliff’s house on Beechwood Drive in Packanack Lake in the late 1950’s!
Because of Grace’s love for theater and drama she often enjoyed watching Masterpiece Theater on Sunday nights. She often felt a pull back to her childhood roots in New York City and she would frequently take trips there to see Broadway shows and visit the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Grace was also known to wear out many a deck of cards playing solitaire and should seldom missed watching Wheel of Fortune or Jeopardy.
Surviving are her three daughters: Edith Lambert (William) of Middleville, NJ, Grace Schmeelcke (Robert) of Salem, SC, and Ruth Williams (Donald) of Burke, VA; her one son Clifford A. Flanders (David Taylor) of New York City; her five grandchildren: William Lambert, Matthew Lambert, Kristen Ittig, Rob Schmeelcke, and Jessie English; and three great-grandchildren: Thomas, Brock and Ainsley. She was predeceased by her beloved husband Clifford in 1999.
In lieu of flowers, as expressions of sympathy, if friends so wish, donations may be made in Grace’s memory to St. Timothy Lutheran Church.
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