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Virginia Mae Mentzer, 89, the wife of J. Franklin Mentzer, a local pastor, died in Quincy, Pa., Feb. 1, after a brief illness. A memorial service was held Feb. 7 in Christ UMC in Waynesboro, Pa., with the Rev. A. Robert Cook officiating.

Virginia Mae Stanley and Jacob Franklin Mentzer were married in 1941 and had two children.

He had retired from the National Park Service when he began his ministerial career. He served the Shenandale Charge from 1978-1982, then began serving Trinity UMC in Cumberland. He retired from there in 1985. The Mentzers moved to Quincy Village in 1996.

A graduate of Thurmont High School in 1937, Mentzer's first love was music. She had a professional-level classical voice and sang as a paid church soloist in Philadelphia and was a member of the Mendelssohn Choral Society there and the Delaware County Chorus in Suburban Philadelphia, as well as many church choirs throughout her life.

She was employed in the production department at Frick Company, Waynesboro, in the mid-1940s, and later she worked for Stern's Department Store in Philadelphia before becoming a devoted mother, homemaker, volunteer, graceful and generous hostess as a National Park Service spouse and eventually a pastor's wife. She helped with the publication and writing of Family Camping Magazine, which her husband created in the early 1960's.

Volunteering was an important part of her life. She worked with the Girl Scouts in Springfield, Pa., and Thurmont, Md., the Santa Fe Indian Hospital in Mew Mexico when they lived there, and at Reeder's Memorial Home in Boonsboro.

In addition to her husband, she is survived by two children, Jacob Franklin Mentzer III of Rockford, Ill., and Susanne Mae Mentzer of Houston, Texas; one grandson; and a number of nieces and nephews.

Condolences may be sent to J. Franklin Mentzer, P.O. Box 128, Cottage 602-B, Quincy, PA 17247.

Memorial contributions may be made to the Benevolent Care Fund at Quincy Village, P.O. Box 128, Quincy, PA, 17247 or The Cumberland Valley School of Music, 1015 Philadelphia Ave., Chambersburg, PA, 17201.