Mary L. Rhodes

Mary L. Rhodes, 79, of Dover, died Friday, February 22, 2008, in Union Hospital, following a brief illness.

Born, December 29, 1928, in Uhrichsville, she was a daughter of the late Ernest and Viola Cole DeVore. Mary graduated from Uhrichsville High School and was a homemaker a loving wife, mother, grandmother and great-grandmother, who especially enjoyed cooking for family and friends. At the age of sixty, Mary began painting, and she became an accomplished, self-taught artist. She was a member of the Tuscarawas County Pallet Club, and the First Church of God in both Dennison and New Philadelphia.

Mary believed that all children needed to feel loved, especially those whose families did not have a home. She made it her mission to make a blanket, wrap it around a stuffed animal and then make sure one was given to each child in the Friends of the Homeless Shelter at New Philadelphia. Mary did this from the start of the shelter's occupation, and made sure the blankets continued even in her last days in the hospital.

Survivors include two daughters, Pam Bennington of West Lafayette, and Vicki (Jack) Furniss of Dennison; two sons, Jerry (Nancy) Rhodes of Seminole, FL, and Bob (Linda) Rhodes of Largo, FL; seven grandchildren, Autumn Furniss, Robbie, Angie, and Jamey Rhodes, Michelle, Eric and Matt Bennington; nine great-grandchildren, Casey and Katie Cromley, Damian and Hannah Lorenz, Stormy, Tyler and Caleb Rhodes, Giovanni and Angelina Passio; a sister, Betty (Birney) McCauley of Tuscarawas; several nieces and nephews.

In addition to her parents, Mary was preceded in death by her husband of nearly forty-five years, Lawrence Rhodes, in 1992; two sisters, Marie West and Norma Kohler.

Family and friends are invited to call at the Toland-Herzig Funeral Home & Crematory in Dover on Saturday (today), February 23, 6-8 p.m., and on Sunday, February 24, 5-6 p.m. A funeral service for Mary will be held Sunday at 6 p.m. in the funeral home. Pastor Ed Beale of the Sugar Grove United Methodist Church in Washington Court House will officiate. Immediately following the service, there will be a reception in the Toland-Herzig Monarch Center on the Boulevard in Dover. A private family interment will be held following cremation. To sign an online register and share a fond memory of Mary, please visit the funeral home's Web site and click on "obituaries."

The family suggests that donations in Mary's memory be made to the Friends of the Homeless, 211 E. High Ave., New Philadelphia, OH 44663.

Toland-Herzig, Dover
330-343-6132
www.tolandherzig.com