by Suzie Eaton
The staff of LCNV was saddened to learn of the passing of Mary L. Surls, a former LCNV tutor, on November 29, 2009. Mary and her husband of 47 years, Fred, have a loving family of two children and four grandchildren. Mary was born in Chicago, IL, and later attended the University of Michigan, where she met Fred. She earned her B.S. in Physical Therapy and practiced in Michigan, Taiwan and Hong Kong, before they settled in Northern Virginia in the mid-1970s. Mary worked for 20 years as a program specialist for physical and occupational therapy in Fairfax County Public Schools before retiring in 1997.
Mary and Fred have supported LCNV's work through both financial donations and the contribution of their time for more than a dozen years. Mary began tutoring in 1998, and worked with a small group of Pakistani women in Alexandria for two years. Mary was also a master gardener and found a way to combine this passion with her interest in ESOL tutoring: she taught English to several small groups of groundskeepers both at a Northern Virginia country club and at a Collier County, FL, parks and recreation department.
"Mary was a warm, caring, and compassionate person who seemed to connect with just about everyone she knew and worked with," said Fred, who admits he often helped Mary with her tutoring lesson plans "when she needed a guinea pig."
We were deeply touched that in lieu of flowers, Mary's family asked that donations be made to LCNV. This gesture resulted in $1,930 in donations from the following 27 donors and one anonymous donation:
Gifts like these ensure that Mary's support of LCNV's work will live on. The amount given in memory of Mary is enough to support 10 adult students for one full year of one-to-one tutoring with trained volunteers. We sincerely thank Mary's family for this generous act.
Mr. & Mrs. Joseph C. Addis
Ms. Theresa Mullin Ashton
Mr. & Mrs. Paul A. Belmont
Mr. & Mrs. George L. Cates
Ms. Susan Cohn
Ms. Margaret A. Dougherty
Mr. & Mrs. Robert Draper
Mr. Walter E. Duka
Ms. Ernestine B. Gormsen
Ms. Karen Harmon
Mr. & Mrs. Ted Krivoruchka
Mr. & Mrs. Charles Y. Liu
Mr. & Mrs. Stephen T. Lyons
Ms. Swanee Rae Maddox
Mr. & Mrs. Richard Miller
Mr. & Mrs. James Nolan
Mr. & Mrs. Rolf A. Peterson
Ms. Martha Petroff
Mr. & Mrs. Ronald J. Quayle
Ms. Bonnie Scanlon Olenic
Ms. Barbara Schrantz
Mr. & Mrs. Dennis A. Shields
Mrs. Margaret J. Soroos
Ms. Annette Strausberg
Ms. Sigrid Truumees
Ms. Shirley Robinson Werth
Mr. & Mrs. Mark Zanin
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