Gretel Marie Munsey Lively

Gretel Marie Munsey Lively died peacefully on the evening of Monday, September 29, 2011, at Ravenswood Village, Ravenswood, West Virginia, with her daughter Nancy and son-in-law Joseph White at her side.

Born in Crystal, West Virginia on August 25, 1926, she was a daughter of Fred and Lola Munsey. In addition to her parents, she was preceded in death by her husband Sgt. C. C. (Conley) Lively, her sister Myrtle Graves, and her brother Jimmy Munsey.

Marie was raised in Montcalm, WV, and graduated from Bramwell High School in 1944. Following her marriage to Conley Lively in 1945 and the birth of their only child Nancy, she spent many years following his career as a West Virginia State Trooper, moving to numerous posts in southern West Virginia. After his death in 1972, she remained in their home in Glen Jean, WV, until moving to Ravenswood Village in 2010.

Marie was a strong and talented woman of many abilities. Her paintings, knitting, and flowers were lovely. Her home and patio were the meeting place for a cup of coffee with her great neighbors in Glen Jean; it was also the feeding place for every stray cat in Glen Jean because she could not bear the thought of any cat going hungry.

Over the years she participated in many activities in the places she lived: Woman’s Club, Garden Club, Extension Homemakers, American Red Cross volunteer (service to military families and bloodmobile) and United Way. She was especially proud to be a ringleader in the Glen Jean Do-Gooders.

She is survived by her daughter Nancy and son-in-law Joseph Cleveland White, of Mineral Wells, WV; her brother, Robert F. Munsey and his wife Elaine, of Cincinnati, OH; and her sister, Mary J. Tyree of Clermont, FL; several nieces and nephews; and her cat Benjie.

Funeral services were conducted on Saturday, September 24, 2011, at 10:45 a. m. at the Glen Jean Union Church on McKell Avenue in Glen Jean, WV. Burial will follow at High Lawn Memorial Park, 1435 East Main Street, Oak Hill, WV.