It is with profound sorrow that our entire family announces the loss of its beloved matriarch, Marietta Smith Mowry, 106, who passed peacefully Saturday, March 16, 2024, with her family by her side.
Marietta was born in Charleroi, Pa. on Sept. 25, 1917.
She was a consummate homemaker, wife and mother. During World War II, she worked at Mesta Machine in Pittsburgh, Pa. supporting the war effort. There she met her husband, Nelson A. Mowry, an engineer. Together they raised their family in Pittsburgh, then Richmond, spending weekends at the cottage they built on the Rappahannock River in Urbanna, where they retired.
Marietta was a lifelong member of the Order of Eastern Star, earning a 50 Year Service Award. She supported Freemasonry in her husband, son, and grandson.
She was an expert quilter and would spend hundreds of hours on a quilt, refusing any modern methods. Receiving one of Marietta’s quilts for Christmas or special occasion was the ultimate expression of her love.
She was a member of the Woman’s Club and founded the Quilters Club in Urbanna, which was involved in fundraising activities in support of the local volunteer firefighters. She volunteered for Meals on Wheels into her 90s as she enjoyed delivering food in her words “to the old people in the community.”
Marietta was fiercely independent, living alone and taking care of herself and her home. She quit driving at the age of 100, volunteering gracefully by announcing she was giving her car to her newly licensed granddaughter.
While caring for everyone around her, she still lived life on her terms — always kind, optimistic, and full of love and spirituality. Everyone in her life or even her presence was met with grace, safety and love. Marietta enjoyed being involved in her beloved Urbanna Baptist Church and in her community, traveling, and bringing together her family. Everything she did in life was defined by a quiet and loving elegance.
When asked often about the “secret” to living to 106 years of age in good health and a mental acuity better than your own, she would simply reply, “I didn’t drink and I didn’t smoke.” To those closest to her, we knew it was living simply in faith, kindness and love.
She was preceded in death by her husband, Nelson A. Mowry; and her son, Nelson E. Mowry Sr., Gloucester.
She is survived by her daughter, Ilene Gallagher; and son-in-law, Dave Gallagher, Magnolia, Texas, and daughter-in-aw, Nancy A. Mowry of Gloucester. Marietta’s legacy includes grandchildren, great-grandchildren and great-great-grandchildren numbering in the dozens. She will be desperately missed but always a part of everyone she touched in this world.
A private graveside service will be conducted for close family in Urbanna.
You are invited to join her family as they remember, honor and celebrate the life of Marietta Smith Mowry on Saturday, April 20 at 11 a.m. at Urbanna Baptist Church, 121 Watling St., Urbanna. Please come and share your memories and stories of the time all shared together.
