Jennie Elisabeth Maule

Jennie Elisabeth Maule (nee Giovanna Zappone), of West Grove, for 60 years a resident of Newtown Square, died on June 8, 2023, at Kendal at Longwood after a brief and courageous battle with pancreatic cancer. She was 98.

Beloved by her family and friends, she was the daughter of Anthony Zappone and Rosalina Rodia. Jennie was born in North Philadelphia and grew up in Southwest Philadelphia. She attended T.G. Morton School, Tilden Junior High School, and John Bartram Senior High School, and graduated in 1943.

During her high school senior year, Jennie split her time between classes and employment with the U.S. military which needed workers with World War II going on. She was employed by the U.S. Army at its Quartermaster Depot and by the U.S. Navy at its Material Redistribution Center. It was while working at the Quartermaster Depot that she met her future husband, Edward Randolph George Maule. They were married on April 27, 1946.

After her children were in school, Jennie returned to the working world. She worked part-time several years for Beth El Synagogue in Broomall, and on Sunday mornings for Grace Lutheran Church, also in Broomall. She was employed as a secretary for a State Farm Insurance agent in Springfield from 1970 until she retired in 1985.

In addition to raising her children, maintaining a household for her family, and working various jobs, Jennie was a volunteer for St. Anastasia Roman Catholic Church. She typed the parish newsletter, was an adult advisor to the Catholic Youth Organization, and assisted with smaller tasks for the parish. She baked thousands of cupcakes for church events. She frequently supervised St. Anastasia School classrooms during lunchtime so the teachers could have their meal break. For decades, she was a promoter for De Sales Seminary Associates for the Oblates of St. Francis de Sales.

Jennie enjoyed sewing and made dozens of dresses and other clothing for her daughters and others. She loved to cook, and she believed that letting someone be hungry, especially children, was the worst possible sin, and she often fed many neighborhood children. Jennie enjoyed gardening, growing vegetables and flowers, and was well known for the roses that she grew. She also enjoyed reading, walking, music, and handicrafts. She and her husband Eddie were frequent attendees at the Valley Forge Music Fair. Jennie often accompanied her husband when his band, the Serenaders, played weddings, reunions, and other events. She was his “how-does-this-sound” advisor as he wrote, transposed, and practiced music at their home.

Jennie collected spoons, Wedgewood, and knick-knacks, and her fondness for donkeys resulted in a large collection of donkey replicas. She started using desktop computers when in her 70s, and became an avid user of email, browsers, and Facebook, and became quite proficient with games such as Boggle and Spider Solitaire. She also was most interested in family history, not only sharing stories but eagerly learning about (and meeting on Facebook) newly discovered cousins here and in Italy.

Jennie was intellectually curious, often engaging in deep discussions with friends and family members. She was environmentally conscious, and recycled items long before it entered global consciousness. She lived her life according to her favorite saying, “God rules the world, but we keep interrupting,” and in her last days she worked with a musician to compose a song based on those words.

She is survived by her sons, Edward George, Jr. (Evaline Louise) of Clarksboro, NJ, and James Edward of Villanova; her daughters, Mary Teresa Maule Alft (Michael) of Lincoln University and Nancy Ann Maule-McNally (Mark O’Connor) of Mashpee, MA; grandchildren, Edward George III (Brooke), James Andrew (Dora), Rebecca Lynn Grammer (Derek), Cynthia Louise, Charles Edward (Karen), Sarah Margaret, Amelia Mikel Guest (Eric), and Mikaela Elisabeth Alft; great-grandchildren, Aristotle Leif (Aspen), Lucien Alexander, Hally Dora Rackham (Christopher), Madeleine Paige, Anastasia May Manes, Alexander James Manes, Henry Thomas, Emily Charlotte, and Isaac Mason Guest; numerous nephews, nieces, grandnephews, grandnieces; and hundreds of cousins.

Jennie was predeceased by her husband, Eddie, to whom she was married for 56 years, her parents, all of her and her husband’s brothers and sisters and their spouses, her son-in-law Brian McNally, her granddaughter Marysa Randolph Alft, and some of her nephews and nieces.

Relatives and friends are invited to her viewing on Wednesday, June 14 from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Donohue Funeral Home, 3300 West Chester Pike in Newtown Square, Pa. (610-353-6300). A Funeral Mass will take place on Thursday, June 15 at 10:30 a.m. at St. Anastasia Church, 3301 West Chester Pike in Newtown Square, Pa. Interment is at SS Peter and Paul Cemetery, Springfield, Pa.

Jennie requested that in lieu of flowers, donations be made to the Oblates of St. Francis de Sales (Oblate Development Fund, P.O. Box 87, Childs, MD 21916-0087 or oblates.org/support-us (use Wilmington-Philadelphia link), or to the charity of your choice.

The family wishes to extend sincere gratitude to Kendal at Longwood and Willow Tree Hospice for their loving care for Jennie.