Graveside Service
Obituary of Mary Elizabeth Merwin
Mary Elizabeth (Davis) Merwin, 95, passed away peacefully on 12/6/22 at the Redding Veterans Home in Redding, CA. Mary Elizabeth was born in Mount Joy, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, in her parents’ home on the Hillside Farm dairy in the same bedroom in which her mother, Mary Neff Bender, was born. She grew up working with her father, Raymond Mansion Davis, milking cows and delivering milk and fifty-pound ice blocks. She attended Hempfield high school (class of 1945) and, upon graduation, worked at Hamilton watch factory until enlisting in the US Marine Corps, where she earned the rank of Sergeant. Before being transferred to San Francisco, CA, she was stationed in San Diego, CA. She was highly active in the Church of the Brethren while growing up and throughout her military service. Mary Elizabeth was required to exit the service with the Marine Corps when she married Sergeant Robert (Bob) Merwin, also of the United States Marine Corps.
She gave life to three children, her daughters, Robin and Colleen, and her son, Bob Merwin Jr.
After a divorce, she went to work at Marin General Hospital in Greenbrae, CA, in the telecommunications department as a PBX operator for 28 years. Her passions were her children, helping and serving others in her church and community, and baking greaseless donuts in the Brown Bobby machine she inherited from her mother.
She was an active member of the Sunny Hills Children’s Services Guild for 30 years, where she raised money by selling her “famous brown bobbies.” In 2005 she was presented with the California Senate award for philanthropy and volunteerism for her commitment to serving others.
Mary Elizabeth was preceded in death by her parents, Raymond and Mary Davis, sister Verna Killian, and brothers J and Jerry Davis. She is survived by her brother, Reverend Samuel Davis. Her children Robin, Colleen (Centeio), and Bob Merwin. Daughter and son-in-law Chris Centeio and Brenda (Yates) Merwin. Grandchildren Ben, Lucas, & Carly (Rushton) Centeio, Kyle, Skylar, Jacie, Bobby, and Trinity Merwin, and five great-grandchildren, Maya, Isaac, Jacob, Elizabeth, and Anselm.
Mary Elizabeth will be laid to rest at a graveside service with military honors alongside her parents, great-grandparents, Joseph R and Lizzie B Neff Bender, and brother and sister-in-law, Jerry and Grace Davis, at the Salunga Church of the Brethren Cemetery in Pennsylvania on January 5th, 2023, at 3 PM. A celebration of life for Mary Elizabeth will be held in the near future in California, where she lived for the past 70 years.
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