Mary Ellen Wrabley, lifelong educator
Mary Ellen (Higgins) Wrabley, 86, of Gambrills, Md., and Lewes, died in her home in Maryland at 11:40 p.m., Monday, Oct. 28, 2019, surrounded by her family after a long fight with cancer.
She was the loving wife of 65 years of Raymond “Ray” Bahr Wrabley Sr. of Pittsburgh, Pa. Born May 27, 1933, in New York City, N.Y., Mary Ellen is the daughter of George Lincoln Higgins, a salesman from New York City, and Katherine Louise Sullivan, a nurse and homemaker from Auburn, N.Y. As the daughter of a traveling salesman, Mary Ellen moved around quite often, attending six high schools before graduating in 1951 from Bethel High School, now Bethel Park High School in Bethel Park, Pa. She received her bachelor of arts degree in psychology in 1955 from Seton Hill College (now Seton Hill University); an all-girls Catholic liberal arts school in Greensburg, Pa., where she was a representative for the student government and also captain of the cheerleading squad for the brother school St. Vincent College in Latrobe, Pa., where she met her future husband Ray, a halfback for the football team.
After getting married, Mary Ellen and Ray quickly began their family, having six children in seven years, and she continued a traveling life as a Marine Corps wife and then the wife of a consultant. At the same time, she began to pursue advanced degrees in the field of special education. Mary Ellen completed her master’s degree in 1978 from Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton, Fla., while working as a kindergarten and fourth grade teacher at Nativity Elementary School in Hollywood, Fla.
Mary Ellen soon moved out of the classroom and into special education administration, receiving her doctorate of education (EdD) in 1985 from Temple University in Philadelphia, Pa. She spent 30 years working for the Chester County Intermediate Unit in Chester County, Pa., retiring in 2008 as the assistant director for special education.
Upon retirement, she became an adjunct professor, teaching future educators at both Pennsylvania State University - Brandywine and Immaculata University in Malvern, Pa.
Mary Ellen was very politically active. As a passionate lifelong Democrat, she volunteered for local and national elections wherever she lived. Most recently, she campaigned with the Kennett Democratic Party in Kennett Square, Pa., and monitored elections in Chester County. She also served on the board of directors for Chester County Human Services and was a member of many progressive organizations, including the American Civil Liberties Union.
But her favorite place in the world was at the beach in her home in East Cape Shores in Lewes. There she was able to share her love of the beach with her large, extended family.
In addition to her husband, Mary Ellen is survived by her six children and their spouses, Mary Louise Wrabley and Philip Edgerly, Lisa and Jeffrey O’Brien, Raymond (Jr.) and Susan Wrabley, Deirdre and Michael Canales, Matthew Wrabley, and Kevin and Robin Wrabley; her two younger sisters and brothers-in-law Denise and John MacGaffin, and Dierdre and Charles Englehart; her 18 grandchildren; eight great-grandchildren; and six nieces and nephews.
Family will receive friends at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Catholic Church, 1800 Seton Drive, Crofton, Md., Monday, Nov. 4, from 11 a.m. to noon, followed by a Catholic Mass at noon. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to the Ovarian Cancer Research Alliance, 14 Pennsylvania Plaza, Suite 2110 New York, NY 10122 at donations@ocrahope.org or 212-268-1002.
Please view and sign the family’s guestbook at: www.beallfuneral.com.
