Mary Ellen Reno

MARY ELLEN RENO

August 20, 1923 - August 29, 2023

Mary Ellen Reno, of Decatur, Georgia, passed away in her sleep just nine days after celebrating her 100th birthday. Just as she would have wanted, at the time of her death, she was in her room, in her home, with her cat.

Mary Ellen was born on August 20, 1923, in Braddock, Pennsylvania, the oldest of three daughters born to Wilbur and Florence Richardson. When she turned 15, she moved with her family to Beaver, Pennsylvania, where she graduated from Beaver High School in the Class of 1941. On January 30, 1943, she married her high school sweetheart, Robert Reno, the day before he left for basic training with the US Navy. This marriage continued for over 64 years until Bob's death in 2007.

Mary Ellen spent the years of World War II living with her parents while working in a factory maintained by Curtiss-Wright Aviation. After the war, Bob and Mary Ellen established their home in Beaver where they became parents to three children: Mary Ellen (Molly), Susan Elizabeth, and Robert Princeton. In 1975, the couple relocated to south Florida to be close to their oldest daughter and her growing family. A final move took them to Georgia, first to Henry County in 2003, and then to Decatur in 2007.

In addition to her life as a wife, mother, and homemaker, Mary Ellen lived as a practicing artist working at various times in oils, acrylics, pastels, and watercolors. Through much of her life, she enjoyed reading the works of such authors as Hemingway and Faulkner in her earlier years, followed by Wendell Berry more recently. Finally, she was the caregiver to a long succession of purebred cats to whom she devoted unfailing attention.

Her last project in this life was to live to see her One Hundredth Birthday, an achievement after which she was fully ready to bring her earthly journey to a close. She was preceded in death by her parents, her husband, and her oldest child, Mary Ellen (Molly) Reno, who died on July 7, 2023. She is survived by her sisters, Margaret Ann Gelder and Billie Lynn Monroe (both of Avon Park, FL), her daughter, Susan Elizabeth Mbugua (Nairobi, Kenya), and her son, Robert Princeton Reno and wife, Belva (Lubbock, TX).

Also surviving are nine grandchildren including Robert Reno, Jennifer Reno, Chris (Bibi) Cammarano, Kelley (Dave) Basinger, Liz Mbugua, Naomi (Jerry) Dillard, Mary Ellen (Sean) McMellion, Meg Mbugua, and Robert (Kristan) Mbugua. There are thirteen great grandchildren, and numerous nieces and nephews.

A memorial service will be held on Saturday, September 30, 2023, beginning at 10:30 am, at Emory Presbyterian Church, 1886 N. Decatur Road, Atlanta, Georgia.