Mary Greta Elbel

Mary Greta “Molly” Elbel, 84, of Grants Pass, died Monday, February 19, 2007 at Three Rivers Community Hospital.

Funeral services will be at 2:00 P.M. on Thursday, February 22, 2007 at Hull & Hull Chapel. Interment will follow at Hillcrest Memorial Park. Hull & Hull Funeral Directors are in charge of arrangements.

She was born on January 14, 1923 in Keswick, England to Arthur William Coleman and Margaret Hodges Coleman. After graduating from St. Leonard’s Girls School in Swanage, England she worked at Boots as a librarian. During World War II she enlisted as a WAF as a transport driver. During the war she met her husband, Jim Elbel, an American soldier stationed in England. They married on February 22, 1947 in Louisville, Kentucky. She became a naturalized American citizen in 1955. In 1972 she moved from Yucaipa, California to Grants Pass.

She was a member of the Republican National Committee and supported the local Republican Women’s Committee.

She enjoyed gardening, reading, knitting and visiting the beach.

Survivors include her daughter, Susan Caster; and her son, James Arthur Elbel, both of Grants Pass; four grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren.

She was preceded in death by her son, Jeffrey Elbel in 1968 and her husband, James Alvin Elbel in 2007.