Mary Danforth Obituary (1928 – 2022) – Temperance, MI

Mary Virginia ‘Ginny’ Danforth passed away in her home in Temperance, Michigan on March 7, 2022, at the age of 93. She was born on August 5, 1928, in her grandparent’s farmhouse in Lebanon, Warren Co., Ohio to Samuel Curtis Dearth and Luella Irene (Snider) Dearth. Her childhood years were spent traveling with her parents where her father’s job as a traveling salesman during the Depression years took them to many states. Ginny was enrolled in the local schools of the territories that her father was assigned to.

When she was a teenager, Ginny and her parents moved to a newly conceived, government built, planned housing development just north of Cincinnati, called Greenhills. It was while living there that Ginny, who played the saxophone and sang with two other high school girlfriends, traveled to local venues where they played and sang. It was also while living in Greenhills that she met her future husband, Leonard Alford Danforth, who was newly out of the Navy. They married March 29, 1947.

After living in several different cities in Ohio and Michigan, Leonard and Ginny settled in Temperance, Monroe Co., Michigan and raised their family there. The couple worked together selling real estate for the DiSalle Real Estate Co. and later for Hitts Realtors.

After her husband’s death in 1976, Ginny continued to work in real estate for a while then worked with the Shortway Bus Company putting together tour packages and leading the tours which allowed her to travel all over the country. When she retired, Ginny moved to Brevard, N.C. and lived with her sister and her husband for many years before moving back to Temperance, MI. where she remained until her death.

Ginny is pre-deceased by her husband, Leonard; daughter, Sue Ellen; and grandson, Lee Allen DeBruyne, Jr. Surviving her are her children, Steve (Amy), Mike (Kathy), Debbie Danforth, and Shari (Dave) Smith; numerous grandchildren and great-grandchildren, nieces and nephews.

The family wishes to thank the nurses, aides, and social workers from Hospice of Northwest Ohio for their compassionate care and helpfulness to the family during these past months. There will be no funeral and burial will be private. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Hospice of Northwest Ohio or Mobile Meals of Toledo.