FM Mooberry

Age 85
Loving Wife, Mother and Grandmother

FM Mooberry died peacefully on Friday December 11 at Kendal at Longwood where she was a resident. FM was born in 1930 in Albert Lea, Minnesota, as that was the closest hospital to her hometown of Northwood, Iowa. She grew up active in the Girl Scouts and committed to a professional Scouting career. Graduating from the University of Iowa she became the Executive at the Shinning Trail Council in Burlington Iowa. Her Scouting career was interrupted when she married David Mooberry in 1953 and after a short stay at Purdue, moved to Delaware. She joined the Wilmington Area Council with responsibility for Cecil County, Maryland. A growing family and husbands transfers cut short the scouting career and she changed to her back-up interest, horticulture. FM was a guide at Longwood Gardens in the late 60s and early 70s but returning from a move to Princeton she became a volunteer at the new Brandywine River Museum. When Frolic Weymouth told her: Cant you do something about this tiny garden and the ugly parking lot, a new career was solidified. She decided that the garden at an institution committed to protecting the Brandywine Valley should be committed to protecting the native plants of the region. As Coordinator of Horticulture at the Museum she worked with 40 other volunteers and lots of truckloads of mushroom soil, to create an outstanding native plant garden. They turned cinders into Gold.
FMs career as gardener, educator, designer, author, speaker, collector of seeds for commercial growers and advocate for native plants flourished. In1990 she started the Native Plants in the Landscape Conference at Millersville University that is still active today. Along the way she discovered an unusual white seedling of Phlox paniculata that she named for her husband. Phlox David was named Perennial Plant of the year in 2002. FM was also an active member of the London Grove Friends Meeting.
FM is survived by a very close and loving family including her husband of 62 years, her daughter Susan Mooberry & husband Greg Paterson of San Antonio Texas, her son Douglas Mooberry & wife Pat Pusey Mooberry of Unionville Pennsylvania and 4 outstanding grandchildren: Alex of San Antonio, Elizabeth of Alexandria VA, Jessie of Istanbul Turkey and Brinton a senior at Lehigh University.
A memorial service will be held 2PM Saturday January 23, 2016 at Kendal at Longwood Auditorium, 1109 East Baltimore Pike
Kennett square, PA 19348. Contributions in her memory may be made to London Grove Friends Meeting 500 Street Rd. Kennett Square, PA 19348. Arrangements are being handled by the Kuzo & Grieco Funeral Home (610-444-4116) of Kennett Square. To view her online obituary, please visit www.griecocares.com

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Services

Memorial Service
January 23, 2016 2:00PM
Kendal at Longwood Auditorium
1109 East Baltimore Pike
Kennett square, PA 19348

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