| Sources |
- [S926] Find-A-Grave, (www.findagrave.com).
Geraldine Anne von Mussinan McDowell
Birth: 22 Jan 1918 Ashland, Boyd County, Kentucky, USA
Death: 5 Jan 2018 (aged 99) Norfolk, Norfolk City, Virginia, USA
Burial: Ashland Cemetery, Ashland, Boyd County, Kentucky, USA
Plot: Section 23
Memorial #: 76272471
Bio: Geraldine Anne von Mussinan McDowell, 99, passed away on Jan. 5, 2018, surrounded by loving family. Gerry was born on Jan. 22, 1918, in Ashland, Ky., to Ralph Otto von Mussinan of Ripley, Ohio, and Alma West von Mussinan of Ashland, Ky. Gerry was looking forward to celebrating her 100th birthday in just a few weeks with family and friends. She loved to dance, especially to "The Tennessee Waltz" and had enjoyed five-year milestone birthdays from the age of 80 with a large party and dancing to the music of a bluegrass band.Gerry graduated from high school in Ashland, Ky., in 1936. She was a talented musician and her first job was playing guitar and performing country and western music with Billy Menshouse on WCMI Radio. "Billie and Gerry" sang on the air from 1935 to 1942. She married her childhood sweetheart Augusta Lee McDowell in 1938. She worked at the Ashland Foundry as a bookkeeper until Gus came home from serving in the U.S. Army in 1945. They raised three children together on Etna Street in Ironton, Ohio, where she was the best wife, mother, neighbor, and friend anyone could ask for. She was an active parent in the Lawrence St. School PTA, Ironton High Band Boosters, and First Baptist Church, Ironton.When Gus died in 1973, Gerry moved to Norfolk, Va., where she worked at the Naval Communications Center, the Naval Aviation Depot, Norfolk, and the Association for Research and Enlightenment (ARE) Library in Virginia Beach. Life experiences and a questing mind drew her to the ARE where she was a lifetime member. She took classes at Old Dominion University in Library Science and retired as a librarian from ARE when she was 82. She loved cataloging books and working at the desk, meeting people from all over the world. Her co-worker and friend Sandy Lanigan called her the "heart of ARE". She was especially happy when the library sent her to England for six weeks to catalog a donated library. Her special gifts were highlighted in books by L. B. Taylor, Jr., and Henry Bolduc. She was an avid reader and could average reading a book a day. She loved living in her little white cottage on 69th Street in Virginia Beach until she retired from work and her weekly dinners there were legendary.Gerry and Gus joined the Clan MacDougall/McDowell Society in the 1960s and attended Grandfather Mountain Highland Games consecutively for many years. Gerry was a founding member of the Scottish Society of Tidewater (SST) and was honored with a Lifetime Membership. She was an active member and loved participating in the annual "Kirkin' of the Tartan" service at Knox Presbyterian Church. She enjoyed traveling to Scotland, England and Wales as well as visiting family in Germany and seeing a castle once owned by the von Mussinans, Schloss Zellereit. She also loved visiting the city of New Orleans and nearby Oak Alley Plantation.Left to cherish her memory are two daughters, Linda Swann and Robin Willis and husband Manuel, and one son, Donald McDowell and wife Carol; grandchildren Leah Morgan, Chris Major, Jeff Swann and wife Patty, Billy Swann, Amie Vasbinder and husband Jonathan, Sam McDowell and wife Kim, Abby Sly and husband Matt, and Anne Ayers and husband John; great-grandchildren Matthew Morgan, Andrea and Allison Major, Connor and Kristina Swann, Chris, Seamus and Andrew West, Elizabeth, Cheyenne, and Aileana McDowell; and Isabel and Natalie Vasbinder; niece Carol Ann Damron of Ashland, Ky., other nieces and nephews, and dear friends Maria and John Oakes and Kay Staley Rader of Ironton, Ohio. She was also beloved by a son of her heart, Agust (Gusti) Olafsson and family, in Reykjavik, Iceland. She was a loving and caring "Meemaw" to many others.A Celebration of Life Service will be held at Central Baptist Church in Ghent, Norfolk, where Gerry was an active and faithful member, on Saturday, Jan. 20th at 11 a.m. A graveside service will take place at a later date in Ashland, Ky., where she will be laid beside Gus in Ashland Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Scottish Society of Tidewater, ARE Library, or Central Baptist Church in Ghent, Norfolk, 701 W. Olney Rd. H.D. Oliver Funeral Apts., Norfolk Chapel, are handling arrangements. Online condolences may be offered to the family through www.hdoliver.com.
Family Members
Spouse
Augusta Lee McDowell 1918-1973
Created by: Emily Kelley (47567102)
Added: 10 Sep 2011
URL: https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/76272471
Citation: Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com : accessed 07 July 2020), memorial page for Geraldine Anne von Mussinan McDowell (22 Jan 1918?5 Jan 2018), Find a Grave Memorial no. 76272471, citing Ashland Cemetery, Ashland, Boyd County, Kentucky, USA ; Maintained by Emily Kelley (contributor 47567102) .
|
1918 - 2018 (99 years)