Ethel Ann Thirtle, age 75, of Wilmington, Delaware, died on February 20, 2018, after a brief illness.
Born in Des Moines, Iowa, and raised in Rochester, New York, Ethel graduated from Greece Olympia High School and earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in technical writing from the University of Rochester. She worked as a technical writer for Eastman Kodak Company, for DuPont and DuPont Merck Pharmaceuticals, and for Shared Medical Systems Corporation, and as an independent consultant.
Ethel was a lovely, kind, gentle, and generous woman with many interests. She loved gardening and crafts, and was an accomplished knitter and seamstress. She was an avid tennis player and faithfully watched tennis matches. She loved music, learning to play the piano at the Music School of Delaware. She loved birds and often followed the latest Webcam images of the peregrine falcon nest in downtown Wilmington. She was fascinated with the French language and culture and enjoyed taking courses in French language and horticulture at the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at the University of Delaware.
Her parents –John Robson Thirtle and Frances Svaldi Thirtle of Rochester, NY – and her sister Barbara E. Brokaw predeceased her. She is survived by her partner Alp Akalin, a sister and a nephew, and many friends, all of whom will miss her dearly.
Friends may gather beginning at 11:00 a.m. on Tuesday, March 13, at Chandler Funeral Home, 2506 Concord Pike, Wilmington, DE 19803. A memorial service will begin at 11:45 a.m. and friends may share remembrances. A reception with a light lunch will follow immediately after the service at Chandler. Interment will be private. In lieu of flowers, please make a donation in Ethel’s honor to the National Audubon Society.
Condolences