Marion Alice (Wilder) Holmes Ambler, 87, formerly of Kinderhook, N.Y., and currently of Jefferson, passed away unexpectedly at home on Christmas Eve.
She was born Jan. 23, 1919, in Spencertown, N.Y., to Walter Fisher Wilder and Elsie E. (Laraway) Wilder. She attended school in Chatham, N.Y., and graduated from Chatham High School and then Albany Business College.
During WWII, Marion served with the U.S. Coast Guard Women’s Reserve, and was discharged with the rank of Chief Petty Officer. At the time of her marriage to Wesley Chandler Holmes in 1955, she was serving on the secretarial staff of the Veterans Administration Hospital in Albany, N.Y.
She and her husband lived in Salona, Penn., where Mr. Holmes was the service manager for Piper Aircraft Company. He died in January of 1968 of a cerebral hemorrhage. A widow now, she moved back to the area where she was raised and bought a house in historic Kinderhook, N.Y. Her mother, Elsie Wilder, then came from Chatham to live with Marion, where she was lovingly cared for until her death in 1982.
In Kinderhook, Marion was a realtor, an antique dealer, active in her church, and ready to help anyone who needed it. A kind and pleasant woman, much loved by her family and many friends, she will be sorely missed.
One day in the late 1980’s, she received a telephone call from someone she hadn’t heard from since they dated in high school, Stephan B. Ambler. He looked her up to see what she was doing. The spark was still there, and they married in Boothbay in 1993, and lived in Kinderhook until Stephan’s death in 2005. Marion, with Alzheimer’s Disease, went to live with her niece in Jefferson, where she was cared for until her death.
She was predeceased by her parents; an infant sister, Gladys E. Wilder; brother, Dr. Clifford W. Wilder of Jefferson; two husbands, Wesley Chandler Holmes of Boston, Mass., and Stephan Babcock Ambler of Austerlitz, N.Y.
She is survived by a sister-in-law, Lucille Galbrith of Washington; niece, Lynn Ford of Jefferson; grandnieces, Melissa Gray and Nancy Slaughter of Florida; grandnephews, Jeffrey Henkener of Florida, and Frank Ford of Maine; great-grandnieces, Kirsten Gray and Amanda Slaughter of Florida; great-grandnephews, Joshua Gray and Christopher Slaughter of Florida, and Gavin Fitzpatrick-Ford of Maine; and great-grandniece, Rebecca Gray of Florida.
Marion, from childhood, was always very fond of cats and they of her. If you wish, a contribution may be sent in her name to P.A.L.S., 188 Case Rd., Winthop, ME 04364 (this is a no-kill shelter) or any animal shelter of your choice.
The burial of her cremains will be in the Spencertown Cemetery, Spencertown, N.Y. in the spring.
Arrangements are entrusted to Hall’s Funeral Home, Waldoboro.