Margaret Gramling

STRAFFORD—Margaret W. "Mig" Gramling, 78, died Thursday, Feb. 14, 2008, at the Woodstock Terrace in Woodstock.

She was born March 6, 1929, in Cambridge, Mass., the daughter of Arthur and Eunice (Chandler) Allen. She grew up in Wellesley Hills in Massachusetts and graduated from Wellesley College with a degree in music. She married Richard Brown in 1950 and they lived in Bedford, Mass., where they raised their five children.

In 1974, she moved to Vermont, where she met Edward Gramling. They were married November 2, 1975, and ran a small farm in Sharon for many years. She grew perennials, strawberries and vegetables which they sold at the local farmers’ market. She also taught piano lesson. In 1989, they moved to her maternal family’s home on Old City Falls Road in Strafford.

She learned to play the organ and served as the organist at the Greater Hartford United Church of Christ in Hartford Village for eight years. She also served as a Strafford Cemetery Commissioner for many years and was a member of the United Church Women. Walking was perhaps her greatest love, and she cherished her time spent outdoors. She and her husband spent many of their vacations hiking in the White Mountains and by the ocean at Isle of Shoals in Maine. She was a prolific painter and exhibited her work locally.

Survivors include her husband of Strafford; two sons, Richard Brown of Oaksbluff, Mass., and Peter Brown of Belchertown, Mass.; three daughters, Rebecca Wheeler of Shutesbury, Mass., Emmeline Doyle of Strafford, and Elisabeth Lachance of Raymond, Maine; nine grandchildren; one sister, Emmeline Grubb of Schenectady, N.Y.; a cousin; nieces and nephews.

She was predeceased by a sister, Elizabeth Titus.

Calling hours are Friday, Feb. 22, from 5-7 p.m. at the United Church of Strafford on the green in Strafford. Funeral services will be held Saturday, Feb. 23, at 11 a.m. at the United Church of Strafford, with Rev. Mary Thompson officiating. Burial services will take place in the spring.

Memorial contributions may be made to the Newton School Music Fund, payable to Newton PTA, South Strafford, Vt., 05070. Services are under the direction of the Boardway & Cilley Funeral Home in Chelsea.

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