In Memoriam

Grace A. Ambrose, 92, of Hamilton Place, a former teacher in the Diocese of Rockville Centre schools, died Feb. 13, 2009, while in hospice care at Franklin Hospital, Valley Stream.

Born Grace Eugenia Acerno on June 19, 1916, in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, she was the eldest of six children and grew up in Long Island City and Elmhurst. She married the late Harold E. Ambrose on July 11, 1942 and worked for the Signal Corps during World War II. She and her husband lived in Florida for a brief time during the war and moved to Garden City in 1950. They resided on Kensington Road and had three daughters who attended St. Anne's School in Garden City and Sacred Heart Academy, Hempstead.

Mrs. Ambrose earned her teaching certification at St. John's University and began teaching at St. Anne's School in 1954. She later taught fourth, fifth and sixth grade at St. Aidan's School, Williston Park. She retired in the early 1990s and had many devoted students over the years.

Mrs. Ambrose is survived by her three daughters and their spouses: Maribeth (and Richard) Sigal of Corolla, N.C., Deborah (and John) Ripperger of Belle Mead, N.J., and Meg (and Alan) Preller of Rockville Centre; eight grandchildren: Joshua Sigal and Brynn Sigal Wolff; Jared, Megan and Ethan Ripperger; and Evan, Adam and Drew Preller; and three great-granddaughters and one great-grandson. She is also survived by a brother and sister-in-law, A. Arthur and Dorothea Acerno of Rockville Centre; two sisters, Sister Mary Joel Acerno of Fresh Meadows, and Virginia (and brother-in-law Bernard) Bartley of Plandome; and many nieces and nephews. She was predeceased by her husband, a former member of the Fire Department of New York, in 1972; and a sister, Gloria McKenna of Crofton, Md., and a brother, Michael Acerno Jr. of Keene, N.H.

Memorial donations may be made to the Grace A. Ambrose Scholarship Fund at St. Anne's School, 25 Dartmouth Street, Garden City, N.Y. 11530.