Marcella Lee Strong

1954 - 2019

Marcella Lee (Hinkle) Strong, 64, of Orwell, passed away January 7, 2019 at UH Geauga Medical Center.
She was born October 16, 1954 in East Liverpool, Ohio to Carl and Ruth (White) Hinkle. She grew up in Mentor and graduated from Mentor High School, where she was active in the band program. She went on to the University of Toledo where she received a degree in Music education. She also received a Master’s in Early Childhood Education from Kent State. She was president of the Friends of Grand Valley Library and a member of Delta Kappa Pi.
Marcella was the Elementary Music teacher for 30 years at Cardinal Schools, where she was awarded Teacher of the Year and received awards from The National Association for Music Educators, The National Reference Institute and the Marquis of Who’s Who Publication Board. She also taught privately for over 40 years (to the present) to countless students of all ages. She always made sure her students were awarded for their efforts each year through certificates and trophies. Marcella was “A Music teacher who helps their students find the song in their heart, the beat in their feet, and a passion for life.”
She met her husband, David, when they were new teachers. They were married just a few months later during the heaviest snow ever in Thompson in 1977. They have always been involved in their community, but loved travel, music, family and entertaining. Marcella loved to cook for the holidays. They were known for having table games for family events. They were a couple all of the time; if one was there, you would find the other too. Although they did not have their own children, they influenced hundreds of young people in the many ways they taught or helped in the community. Marcella’s home music-room walls have years of senior pictures of her students.
Marcella was welcomed into heaven by her parents, Carl and Ruth Hinkle; her in-laws, Betty and Willard Strong; sister-in-law, Alice (Wright) Strong; and brother-in-law, Michael Betteys.
She is survived by her beloved husband of 41 years, David; her sister, Christina Rae (Hinkle) Betteys of Mentor; her brother, Thomas Carl Hinkle of Texas; brother-in-law, Richard (Bobbie) Strong of Painesville; four sisters-in-law, Beth (Roger) Strong Haynes of Stockton Springs, ME, Susan (Richard) Strong Juhasz of Montville, Mae (Robert) Strong Hopke of Dunstable, MA, and Carol (Gerry) Strong Beland of Pelham, NH; seven nieces, Michelle Betteys, Nichol Ness, Cassandra Haynes, Meghan (Andrew) Strong-Bendarski, Brianna (Matt) Morrill, Colleen Juhasz, and Sophia Beland; five nephews, Richard (Dana) Haynes, Geoffrey Juhasz, Alex Hopke, Michael Hopke, and Maxwell Beland; and great-nephews and nieces, Avery and Eli Betteys, Cheyene Ness, Matias Marza Haynes, and Maddox and Carter Morrill.
Calling hours will be held 5 to 7 PM Friday, January 11, 2019 at Sly Family Funeral Home, and 9 AM Saturday, until her Celebration of Life Service at 11 AM at the Sly Family Funeral Home, 15670 West High St., Middlefield, OH 44062. A Private Burial will be in Riverside Cemetery, Painesville, Ohio.
In lieu of flowers, Memorial Donations may be made to Grand Valley Ruritans, Grand Valley Public Library, or Friends of Grand Valley Library at: c/o David Strong, PO Box 370, Orwell, Ohio 44076-0370.
Share memories and condolences at www.slyffh.com