SKOWHEGAN – Late Friday, Aug. 11, 2023, Mary Groder went to swim with the dolphins after a long, hard, fight to stay with us. No longer will she have the sand of all the places she visited between her toes. She is going to be clicking with Flipper.

On Jan. 17, 1941, Carmen (Ferguson) Johnson and Walter Johnson welcomed Mary Rosalind Johnson. She attended Madison schools and married the love of her life, Alfred Groder, on Oct. 28th, 1961. Mary and Alfred settled in Skowhegan and she popped out three children: Carmen Wilkinson, David Groder, and Timothy Groder. While raising these hellions and dealing with Alfred’s antics she worked at Norwalk Shoe. At one point she decided,”Hell, I love cleaning up after my kids and husband at home, I should get a job cleaning up after complete strangers.” So, she worked as a Chambermaid at the Towne Motel until 2006. That’s over 40 years of picking up after people inside and outside the home. How she did not go insane over this is an international mystery. Maybe the line dancing, moosing around (shopping) and drinking Mudslides with friends helped.

Speaking of kids, Mary’s daughter Carmen popped out a couple of hell spawns herself and remarried Scott Wilkinson. Jason Trial was waiting for Mary when she passed while Jess Trial held her hand before she died, but not like right at the moment of death; her son David was smart enough not to procreate but did hook up with Jenni Greenlaw where he is a stepdad/pain in the ass of sorts to her three daughters; Sare, Javyn, and Addyson; her son Timothy also had a one of a kind son and a thoughtful, amazing daughter. Not with himself of course. He divorced and moved on to Lindsay which was one of his best moves ever. Brent and Ashley thought the world of their grandmother and spent a lot of time with her. But the Groder family bloodline does not end there. She has great-grandkids Jerika, Jeremiah, and Avianna. And she leaves behind her one and only brother, Dave Johnson and his wife Maxine Wolph-Johnson still kicking it around Starks.

You may wonder what Mary did in her down time after the kids left. Well, she stayed pretty busy. She was part of the Women’s Auxiliary for the Skowhegan Fire Department, supporting the work that her husband did in his time there. She loved camping with Alfred at Abnaki and Sandy Beach where, “If the campers rockin’, don’t bother knockin’.” It is not known what was happening in the camper, but it was definitely rockin’. When not camping they were road tripping all over the country getting sand or dirt from wherever they visited. There are dozens of film canisters filled with dirt from all over the world in their house. She may have not been blessed in the chest like Dolly Parton but she did love Dollywood. Her ladies lunch once a month was also a favorite past time of hers.

Who was waiting for Mary when she decided to leave this Earthly realm other than Flipper? It is an all-star line-up, including her parents, Carmen and Walter; her grandson, Jason; and of course the wonderful Elvis Presley. The all-star line-up is supported by dozens of other family and friends.

We would like to give a special thank you to Megan and Abby from Beacon along with Tiffany and the other folks at Cedar Ridge.

A graveside service will be Monday, Aug. 21 at 1 p.m. at the East Skowhegan Cemetery at 449 Oak Pond Rd., Skowhegan. Please share your condolences online at http://www.SmartandEdwardsFH.com.

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