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In Memoriam : Deleo "Dee" Gravink
Deleo "Dee" Ruth Gravink - age: 91
(May 13, 1925 to December 14, 2016
)
Resident of
Saco, Maine
Visitation Information:
A Memorial Service will be held in the Spring at the First Reformed Church, 8 North Church Street, Schenectady, NY. Arrangements have been entrusted to Dennett, Craig & Pate Funeral Home, 365 Main Street, Saco. Remembrances can be sent for her family at www.dcpate.com.
Obituary:
Deleo (Dee) Ruth Gravink, 91, passed away quietly at Seal Rock Health Care in Saco, ME on December 14, 2016 as a result of esophageal cancer. She was born in Clymer, NY on May 13, 1925 to William and Maybell Ton Gravink. She grew up on the family dairy farm and attended the Clymer Central School through high school. She received a Bachelor Degree from Houghton Collage and a Master of Arts Degree from Syracuse University. Later she was awarded a John Hay Fellowship at Northwestern University which included an extended period of time in India where she developed a curriculum for high school World Culture Studies for the New York State Department of Education. She also studied at Cornell, SUNY Albany, and American University.
Dee taught high school social studies and geography for four different upstate New York schools over the course of thirty-one years. They were Pine Valley Central in South Dayton, North Collins Central, Perry Central and Niskayuna Central. She was active in teacher organizations, and curriculum development for both local school districts and the State Department of Education.
After retiring from teaching in 1980 she pursued her love of needlepoint, quilting and sewing. She did custom home interior design both directly with home owners and through an Albany furniture store. Her specialty was custom designed pillows of which she made hundreds.
Dee was a member and former elder of the First Reformed Church of Schenectady. She also volunteered regularly at the Bethesda House for the homeless and elderly. In recent years she has lived in assisted living facilities near her brother and sister-in-law first in North Conway, NH and then until her death in Saco, ME.
She is survived by a sister Marilyn Fierri of Simsbury, CT, a brother Phil Gravink and sister-in-law Shirley Damon Gravink of Saco, ME. A nephew Brad Gravink of Clymer, NY, nieces Brenda Dimick of Plymouth, NH and Jill Gravink of Nottingham, NH, great nephews Graham Gravink of Fairview, PA and Jeremy Seiferth of Epping, NH and great-nieces Brittlee Gravink of Erie, PA and Ashley Wagner of Charlotte, NC. She had one great-great niece, Cora Rose, daughter of Brittlee.
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Dr. Tony Pomato - December 15, 2016 Contact this person
To The Gavink Family
My condolences to you on the loss of Dee. She was my Dental Patient for 20+ years before moving away. She was one of the most pleasant people I had the pleasure to meet and treat. My staff always enjoyed her visits. She will be missed.
Anthony D Pomato, DDS
Jean Jadwin - December 15, 2016 Contact this person
I am sorry to hear of the passing of Miss Gravink. I was fortunate to have had her as a teacher at Niskayuna High school and always found her to be concerned with her students and a very kind person. As we prepare for our 50th class reunion next year, we find that many of our favorite teachers are no longer with us. We were privileged to have had Miss Gravink as our teacher, I always loved her smile and ready laugh.
Richard and Theresa Berman - December 17, 2016 Contact this person
We were so sad to hear that you have lost your sister Dee . Her obituary really gave us an understanding of what a very special woman Dee was . I know the love in your heart for her will not end and we pray for peace in your heart also.
Donald Wemple Jr. - December 22, 2016 Contact this person
My thoughts and prayers go to Miss Gravink's family. I was one of her students at Niskayuna High School. I can still see her at the front of our classroom speaking to us. She was always kind and thoughtful to myself and our classmates and tried to help us in our studies. She will always be in my memories and many of our educators who helped shape our lives!
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