Mary Albro

Mary W. Albro VIRGINIA BEACH - Mary Elizabeth Wilcox Albro died Dec. 6, 2008, in Clare Bridge Cottage Brookdale, Ithaca, N.Y. She was born June 30, 1915, the daughter of the late Lynn and Lena Bettis Wilcox in Buffalo, N.Y. She attended Oberlin College for one year and graduated from the University of Buffalo. She married John Nelson (Johnny to one and all) Albro in 1937. Her brothers, William Wilcox and Edward Wilcox and her husband, Lt. Col. John Albro predeceased her. Her daughter, Katherine Albro Houpt of Ithaca and her grandsons, Thomas of Tallahassee, Fla., and Charles of Newton, Mass., survive her. There were three primary interests in her life - cats, roses and traveling. She had a pet cat or as many as three most of her life. The most beloved was Gregory, an orange male, who moved with her through three different homes and who sat up and begged like a dog. She was an accomplished rosarian and her garden at Alanton was a showplace. Her travels began when Johnny became a career Army officer and was stationed in Tokyo and later in Heidelberg and Frankfurt, Germany. Following his retirement they traveled extensively - twice around the world - and made many other trips to east Africa, England, Indonesia, etc. In her 80s, she traveled to Morocco and Turkey. Johnny's last post was Fort Story in Virginia Beach, a place they liked so well that they retired there, built their pink and white dream house and sailed the Chesapeake in their little yacht, the Fadaway. After Johnny's death, Mary moved to a lovely eighth floor apartment in Westminster Canterbury, later leaving for New York. Contributions in her memory can be made to Clare Bridge Cottage or to the Tompkins County SPCA.