Mary Alberta Favinger, retired shop owner
Mary Alberta Favinger, 92, of Pot Nets Bayside, died Wednesday, April 13, 2011, at Delaware Hospice Center in Milford, where she received compassionate and loving care in her final days.
Alberta was born in Swedesboro, N. J., the daughter of Albert and Magdalene Drew. The family moved to Delaware in 1933 and put down roots in Sussex County.
She worked at H. P. Cannon and Son in Bridgeville, and owned her own floral shop, The Flower Pot Shop. She was employed by the state of Delaware, Division of Public Health, from which she retired.
Music was a common thread in her life. At an early age she sang in school musicals and was the first female drum major of the Laurel High School Marching Band. She and her brother, Eddie Drew, had their own musical radio show on station WSAL, The Drew Duo. She played many musical instruments, but especially liked the piano and Hammond Organ.
She helped to organize the first Bridgeville Lions Club musicals and sang in many of them. She was the choir director at Our Lady of Lourdes Church in Seaford for many years and later sang in the choir and played the organ at Mary, Mother of Peace Church in Oak Orchard. She organized the chorus at Cape Henlopen Senior Center and directed their annual talent show for five years. During this time she started a band, Three Hits and a Miss, for which she played the keyboard. This band played professionally in the area for many years and volunteered many hours of their talent to various organizations.
Alberta was a proud member of the ladies auxiliary of the Bridgeville Volunteer Fire Department, which she joined in 1940 and is still a member. She spent many hours raising money for the fire department, cooking tons of dumplings for dinners, and marching in parades all over the state. She was also a fire radio operator for the department. She served as treasurer and president of the Sussex County Ladies Auxiliary. In 1962 she was elected president of the Delaware Volunteer Fire Association Ladies Auxiliary.
In addition to her parents, she was preceded in death by her husband William Robert Favinger in August 1988. She is survived by her children: Meehris McGlaughlin. Thomas Smith, Judy Hitchner, Robert Favinger Jr., and Harold Favinger. There are seven grandchildren; ten great-grandchildren; two great-great-grandchildren; and numerous nieces and nephews. She will be missed by many special friends including Dr. John and lvanka Heffernan and Valerie Pescova.
A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated by Father Charles Hergenroeder, C.Ss.R. at 11 a.m., Tuesday, April 19, at Our Lady of Lourdes Church, 532 East Stein Highway, Seaford. Interment will follow at Odd Fellows Cemetery, Seaford. Friends may visit with the family from 6 to 8 p.m., Monday, April 18, at Parsell Funeral Homes & Crematorium, Hardesty Chapel, 202 Laws Street, Bridgeville.
