LEBANON, Pa. – Grace Eleanor Smith Schillich, 87, of Cornwall Manor, passed peacefully in her sleep Friday evening, July 17, 2009. Grace was born April 1, 1922, in Lebanon, Pa., to the late Hugh L. and Maude Foreman Smith. In 1939 Grace graduated from Lebanon High School and later earned a Bachelor of Arts from Lebanon Valley College in 1943. That same year she married her first husband, Richard J. Zellers of Lebanon, Pa. After the birth of her children, Grace continued her pursuit of higher education, earning a master’s in library science from Villanova University in 1968, and an elementary education certificate from the University of Tennessee in 1973. Her career as a librarian took her to many places, from Pennsylvania at Clifton Heights High School, to Canada at St. Dunstan’s University, to Nashville-Davidson Public Schools in Tennessee, and Woodland High School in Maine. Grace retired in 1988 to Jonesport, where she lived with her second husband, Igor I. Schillich, who predeceased her in 2000. Grace enjoyed reading, gardening, home design and interior decorating. She was an avid animal lover and appreciated the outdoors by walking and cross-country skiing. Surviving her are her daughters, Robin Garrity of Havertown, Pa., and Christie Fritsch of Coatesville, Pa.; five grandchildren and three great-grandchildren. She is also survived by her siblings, Kathryn Mease of Lebanon, Pa., Dorothy Nelson of Albuquerque, N.M., and Thomas Smith of Cambridge, Minn. Memorial services and burial will be at the convenience of the family. Memorials may be sent to Humane Society of Lebanon County, 150 N. Ramona Road, Myerstown, PA 17067, in memory of Grace Eleanor Smith Schillich. www.christmanfuneralhome.com
GRACE ELEANOR SMITH SCHILLICH
