Mary C. Garzia

Mary C. Garzia, 76, of Quarryville, and formerly of Oxford, passed away peacefully on Sept. 8.

Born in West Chester, she was the daughter of the late Ralph and Clara Garzia.

Mary enjoyed helping others, crafts, and spending time with friends and family, especially with her two grandchildren.  

She is survived by one daughter, La Juana L. Lane (Michael) of Quarryville; and two grandchildren, Brianna Lane and Jason Lane.  

She was preceded in death by her brother, Robert Garzia and sister, Marie Ann Garzia.

Funeral services were held on Sept. 14 at the Edward L. Collins, Jr. Funeral Home, Inc. in Oxford.

Interment will be in Oxford Cemetery.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Dementia Society of America, PO Box 600, Doylestown, PA 18901.

Online condolences may be made at www.elcollinsfuneralhome.com.

Doris W. Passante

Doris W. Passante passed away at Crosslands Firbank Health Center near Kennett Square on Sept. 13. She was 86.
Doris was born in North Carolina to the late Floyd and Juanita Welch. She had many fond memories of her early years in a closely knit mountain community with her parents, grandparents and many beloved aunts, uncles and cousins. Her family moved to southern Chester County in the early 1940s, where she resided for the rest of her life.
She was a 1951 graduate of Avon Grove High School, and a 1955 graduate of Elizabethtown College. After college, she returned to Avon Grove where she taught elementary school. As a young teacher, she met a young principal from a neighboring district, Fred R. Passante, and they married in 1957.
Doris left teaching in the late 1950s to raise her family. In the 1970s, she returned to the workforce, earning her real estate broker's license, a profession she thoroughly enjoyed until her retirement in the mid 1990s.
In her retirement, Doris enjoyed classes at the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at the University of Delaware, educational trips with Road Scholars, and road trips with her husband prior to his death. A true “people person” with many friends, Doris was an avid bridge player, a lover of books and member of several book clubs, and a member of a number of social clubs over the years, including her Beta Sigma Phi sorority. She also was an enthusiastic genealogist, spending many hours on her computer researching her family's history in the United States over three centuries.
In addition to her parents, Doris was predeceased by her husband in 2005.
Doris is survived by two daughters, Lisa Passante (and her husband Michael Kaplan) of Landenberg; Carol Daggers (and her husband David of Wilmington, Del.); and one son, Joseph Passante Sr. (and his wife Carol of Kennett Square). She is also survived by five grandchildren, five great-granddaughters, and a brother, Ed Welch of Quarryville, Pa.
Due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, services will be private. 

Prior to her passing, Doris requested that in lieu of flowers contributions may be made to Heifer International, a global nonprofit founded as a project of the Church of the Brethren in the 1940s and supported from its inception by one of Doris's favorite uncles, a Brethren minister. Information can be found at http://www.heifer.org/give/one-time.html.
Arrangements are being handled by Matthew Grieco of Grieco Funeral Home & Crematory, Inc. (1800-FUNERAL). 

To send an online condolence please visit www.griecofunerals.com.

Steven Douglas May

Steven Douglas May, of West Grove, was called home to be with the Lord and his savior, Jesus Christ, on Sept. 13. He was born in the town of Elkton, located in Todd County, Kentucky on Jan. 5, 1965.

Steven spent the first 21 years of his life in Owensboro and Utica in Kentucky, where he met his soulmate and eventual lifelong wife, Deanie L. Crowson. Steven and Deanie moved to Philadelphia and eventually settled in West Grove to raise three children in a house that Steven had built,  and which the family still calls home to this day. Steven took great pride in his professional career in fiber-optics technology and telecommunications. If you knew Steven, you knew that his family and home meant absolutely everything to him.

Steven attended Daviess County High School where he played a wide array of positions for his football team. Additionally, Steven presented his creative and intelligent mind by participating as president of the Junior Achievement Club. This was displayed in his love for reverse engineering vehicles, appliances, and machinery only to rebuild them to understand how they worked, as well as how to improve them. Steven also served as a chaplain of The Patriot News.

Steven was preceded in death by his great-grandparents, Herman and Trutie Tucker; grandparents, John W. and Anna S. May; grandparents, Fredrick J. Kroeger and Virginia L. Tucker.

Steven leaves to cherish his memories his mother, Linda L. Howard; father, James. D. Howard; brother, Barry W. Swift; sister, Vicki L. Ellis; his wife of 35 years, Deanie L. May; son, Joshua A. May; son, Waylon A. May; daughter, Jordan A. May.

Services will be held at 11 a.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 22 at the Avon Grove Church of the Nazarene, 240 State Road in West Grove. 

Burial will be private.  

Masks are required to be worn.

In lieu of flowers, a contribution may be made to the Avon Grove Church of the Nazarene, 240  State Road in West Grove.

To view Steven’s online tribute and to share a memory with his family, please visit www.kuzoandfoulkfh.com.

Theodore Neal Brown

Theodore Neal Brown, of Kennett Square, passed away on Sept. 15 at Brandywine Living at Longwood in Kennett Square.  He was 85.

He was the husband of Rose Marie (Daidone) Brown, with whom he shared 43 years of marriage. 

Born in York, Pa., he was the son of the late Arthur Brown and the late Mabel Love Brown.

Ted was a proud graduate from the University of Pennsylvania with a degree in economics.  While there he was a member of the university crew team and spent many early morning hours on boathouse row.  Following his graduation he served our country in the U.S. Army.

He began his career in the retail industry and worked for Sears Roebuck & Co. for 20-plus years.  Over time he became a store manager and then district manager.  With a young family, and in an effort to help others and have more control over his career and schedule, he made a mid-career change to become a certified financial planner.  He began this new phase of his career working for Janney Montgomery Scott, and later also worked for RBC Dain Raucher and Wells Fargo, before retiring in the early 2000s.

Ted loved meeting and connecting with people, and genuinely wanted the people around him to succeed.  Conversation with him was easy, and he was just as comfortable talking about something deeply personal as he was discussing a technical matter.  Although he was tall and had a deep booming voice (he used to love to sing with that deep voice), he was completely approachable and disarming and people were comfortable opening up to him.

He was quite active in the local community where he lived.  He was a member of the Rotary Club and was a Mason. He was also active with the Toms River Basketball Association (TRBA), where he used sports as a way to teach life lessons.

He enjoyed nature, studying the financial markets, and spending time with his friends. Perhaps most of all he enjoyed spending time with his family, and cheering for his two grandsons while they competed in sports.

In addition to his wife Rose, he is survived by his son Christopher Brown (Jamie) of Kennett Square, grandsons Ryan and Dylan, and his brother Fred.

You are invited to visit with Ted’s family and friends from 10 to 11 a.m. on Friday, Sept. 24, at the Episcopal Church of the Advent, 401 N. Union St. in Kennett Square.  

A Catholic graveside service will follow at 11 a.m. at Union Hill Cemetery. 

Contributions in his memory may be made here in recognition of the caring and compassionate staff of Brandywine Living at Longwood (https://www.tmcfunding.com/funds/brandywine-living-at-longwood/5964/).

Arrangements are being handled by Matthew Grieco of Grieco Funeral Home & Crematory, Inc. (1800-FUNERAL).  

To view his online obituary, please visit www.griecofunerals.com.