Mary B. Groome, family matriarch
Mary B. Groome, 98, passed away Sunday, Aug. 29, 2021. A mother of seven, she was a sweet, giving, and loving mom who will be missed dearly.
Mary was the youngest daughter of the late Peter, from the Netherlands, and Margaret, from Scotland. Born in Washington State in 1923, she could see the tip of Mount Rainier from the house that her father built. When Mary was very young, her family relocated to Rochester, N.Y., then a few years later moved to Lewes, where she graduated from Lewes High School. She met her beloved husband, Will, in 1949, and later married at St. Edmond Church in Rehoboth. The two were married for 62 years, and together they raised their seven children in Newport and Wilmington.
Mary managed a family-owned rental store for several years when her children were older. After she retired, Mary and Will had a house built in Lewes in 1989, on her original childhood land where she lived for over two decades. This house established the neighborhood Nassau Woods. Many fond family memories were experienced while visiting Mary and Will in their retirement years, from walking the boardwalk, going to the beach, and sitting in the “debug” house, to name a few.
Bowling, volunteering at Casa San Francisco, playing Scrabble and cards, cryptograms, and taking art or other educational classes to learn new things were activities Mary enjoyed. In her later years, she moved from Lewes to Northern Virginia near her daughters, Marie and Barbara, who cared for her.
In addition to her parents, Mary was preceded in death by her husband Will; daughter Cathy; son Bobby; all four of her sisters: Anna, Margaret (Harry), Helen (Frank) and Theresa (Jim); and daughter-in-law Sharon.
She is survived by her children: Marie Potter (Tom), Michael (Michele), Barbara Binney (Bill), David, Dolores Strouss (David); and son-in-law Bob Terczak. She loved and cherished her grandchildren: Jamie, Sarah, Lisa (Ben), Nick and Logan; as well as great-grandchild, Renee (Melvin); and great-great-grandchild, Willow.
A livestream celebration of Mary’s life will be held Monday, Sept. 20, at 7 p.m., at Parsell Funeral Homes & Crematorium, Atkins-Lodge Chapel, 16961 Kings Highway, Lewes, where friends may call beginning at 6 p.m. All are invited to join the celebration of life via livestream at 7 p.m., at www.parsellfuneralhomes.com/obituaries/permalink/10108084/LTWebcast.
A Mass of Christian Burial will be held Tuesday, Sept. 21, at 11 a.m, at St. Edmond Church, 409 King Charles Ave., Rehoboth Beach. For a live-stream of the Mass, visit St. Edmond's YouTube page at www.youtube.com/channel/UCKBkUj3Am_hZiVsHWAxlgWg.
Interment will be held privately at St. James Cemetery, Newport.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Mary’s memory: to Casa San Francisco, Catholic Charities, P.O. Box 38, Milton, DE 19968, and designate Casa San Francisco in the check memo; or St. Edmond Church, PO Box 646, Rehoboth Beach, DE 19971; or to The Sunday Mass at the following link: www.thesundaymass.org/en/donate.
Please visit Mary’s Life Memorial Webpage and sign her virtual guestbook at www.parsellfuneralhomes.com.
