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Mary Elizabeth 'Beth' Kaiser, avid historian

March 20, 2013

Mary Elizabeth "Beth" Vogel Kaiser, died Tuesday, March 19, 2013. She was born in Youngstown, Ohio , Oct. 21, 1919.  She was the only child of Charles and Gertrude Vogel.  During the depression the family moved to Alliance, Ohio, Staten Island, N.Y. and Pittsburgh, Pa., finally settling in Ridgewood, N.J. in 1934.

 

She graduated from Seton Hill College in Greensburg, Pa. in 1942.  After working in New York City for a year, she joined the Marine Corps Women's Reserve and was stationed at Camp LeJeune, N. C. during the war. Her enlistment  "... freed the men who formed the 6th Division and fought in Okinawa."  After her military service, she graduated from Berkeley Secretarial School on the G.I. Bill.

 

She first met her husband in Pittsburgh in 1932, where they were in the same grade school, when his family moved to New Jersey. On April 10, 1948, she married Robert George Kaiser of Newark, N.J., and they celebrated their 63rd wedding anniversary in 2011.

 

They made their first home in Ho-Ho-Kus, N.J. in 1953.  Beth and Bob moved to Seminole, Fla. when Bob's company relocated in 1975.  Beth was a member of the Pinellas County Historical Society and a long term volunteer and docent for Heritage Village.

 

She joined the Ponce de Leon Chapter of the Questers, committed to the preservation of antiques and historical landmarks.  She was a member of the Women's Marine Association and an active member of Saint Jerome Catholic Church.  Beth and Bob moved to Lewes in 2007 to be closer to their children.  Bob predeceased Beth in September 2011.

 

Her family includes a daughter, Nancy Anne Kaiser and her wife Mary R. McElhone of Rehoboth Beach; a son, Robert G. Kaiser II and his wife Marsha of Silver Spring, Md.; two grandchildren, Maggie (Johannes) and Katie Kaiser; and one great-grandchild, Brandon.

 

Mass of Christian burial will be celebrated at 11 a.m., Saturday, March 23, at St. Jude the Apostle Catholic Church, 152 Tulip Dr., Lewes.  Entombment will be held privately at a future date.

 

In lieu of flowers contributions are suggested to the Seton Hill University, 1 Seton Hill Dr., Greensburg, PA 15601, c/o Christy Pergar, Attn: the Mary Elizabeth Vogel Kaiser Scholarship Fund.

 

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