FAMILY OWNED AND OPERATED FUNERAL HOMES SINCE 1881
| Roberta Crane Devlin |
| March 30, 1938 - December 28, 2022 |
|
Public Events and LocationsMemorial Mass - Monday, August 14, 2023, 10:30 AM at St. Anthony of Padua Church, Ambler |
ContactsFuneral Home - Wetzel and Son Funeral Home - 501 Easton Road, Willow Grove, PA 19090 - 215-659-0911 - Map |
| Clergy - St. Anthony of Padua Church - 259 Forest Avenue, Ambler, PA 19002 - 215-646-4742 - Map |
| Donation - Germantown Academy - Financial Aid Fund - 340 Morris Road, Fort Washington, PA 19034 - 215-646-3300 - Map |
The following story was composed by Bobbie’s family:
On December 28, 2022 Roberta “Bobbie” Mary Crane Devlin passed away at the age of 84. She was born in Philadelphia on March 30, 1938 to her parents Francis Thomas and Catharine Condon Crane and grew up in East Falls, Pennsylvania with her three siblings, Tom, Catharine “Sissy”, and Francis “Hank” Crane.
During her early years Bobbie enjoyed music, days at the beach, playing squash and Field hockey at Germantown Cricket Club and making lifelong friends. She spent her summers with her family in Ship Bottom, New Jersey every summer of her formative years. Bobbie attended grade school at Holy Cross Catholic School in Mt. Airy, PA and attended high school at Mount St. Joseph’s Academy in Chestnut Hill, PA. She then continued her education at Gwynedd Mercy College, where she received her BS in Education, which led her to her career in teaching.
Later in life, she met John “Jack” Francis Devlin, and they were married on August 19, 2003, and they resided in Gwynedd Valley until her passing. Bobbie spent her life with Jack enjoying time with Jack’s children, grandchildren, good friends and days out on the golf course.
Bobbie commenced her illustrious career in teaching at Germantown Academy in 1964, where she taught for 43 years. At the beginning of her career, she taught kindergarten, and when GA decided to add a pre-kindergarten program, Bobbie spearheaded that program and taught Pre-K. After retirement from her full-time position, Bobbie continued to substitute teach at the school for another four years. To date, there is no teacher with so long a tenure at the institution, and during that tenure, she received the Distinguished Achievement Award for Outstanding Teaching as well as the class of 1760 Honorary Alumni Class award. Accolades, however, can never speak to the dedication and commitment that she had to her students and the institution as a whole. She had a unique energy that along with her vibrant personality, patience, discipline and creativity made her an absolute natural in the early childhood setting, where she taught her students the very basics of life. Those lessons laid the foundation to help inspire and mold over two generations of students to become successful adults in the world. As one of her former students once quipped “Her mantra during Qinger painting in Pre-K, ‘a little dab will do ya’ has always echoed in my mind. Whether it pertains to my business or life at home ‘a little dab will do ya’ reminds me that easy does it and one day at a time are lessons to live by”.
Beyond her students, she enthusiastically mentored many other teachers, including family members, who continue to teach today. She was always open and generous with the goal of making everyone around her better at what they did. She also had a “side” summer career at the Surf City Hotel on Long Beach Island, NJ, which was owned by her brother, Hank for 26 years. Having been brought up in the restaurant business, she was a natural in that realm as well, where she thrived as the dining room manager and once again inspired and taught others. Needless to say, she was a woman with a passionate work ethic.
She found joy in a variety of things in life; watching the sunset over the bay, singing or reading to children, dancing, playing golf and needlepoint. She sang in the church choir at Saint Anthony of Padua Church in Ambler, Pennsylvania, where she was a member of the parish almost all of her adult life. She loved to laugh with friends and family, and even down to her last days in this life, she maintained her sense of humor, not to mention her dignity.
She will be best remembered as someone who always “showed up” and cared for everyone around her. She was a beloved aunt to all of her nieces and nephews, and she treated them all as if they were her own children, and she was a great friend. There wasn’t a birthday, holiday, life mile stone, challenge, or life trial or tribulation, where she wasn’t either a cheerleader for joy or a shoulder to cry on. “Polly Photographer” had a passion for capturing happy moments at events on her camera and always made a lasting memory with a framed piece of artwork to memorialize the day. If there is a snapshot of her, which all who knew her would remember, it is of a woman with a song in her heart, a smile on her face, and a twinkle in her eye.
Bobbie is survived by her husband, John “Jack” Devlin, her sister, Catharine “Sissy” Crane Couch, her sister-in-law, Nancy Crane, her stepchildren and their husbands, Sheila and Steven George and Deirdre and Anthony Kelly and their children, Madelyn, Kirstin and Alexander George and Colin Kelly, and her nieces and nephews, Roberta “Bertie” Woeltz, Marjorie “Mudgie” Holland, Richard “Crane” Couch, Kathleen “Babe” Couch Lortie, Beth Anne Crane, Deborah “Debbie” duHadway, and Francis “Frank” Crane.
Relatives and friends were invited to her Memorial Mass on Monday, August 14, 2023 at 10:30 A.M. at St. Anthony of Padua Church, 259 Forest Avenue, Ambler, PA 19002 in the Mary Chapel. Interment was private.
Please consider making a gift in Bobbie’s memory to Germantown Academy. All contributions will be added to an existing Financial aid fund which will provide tuition support for qualified families. A donation may either be mailed to 340 Morris Road, Fort Washington, PA 19034 or visit the link above to make a donation online.
www.wetzelandson.com
On December 28, 2022 Roberta “Bobbie” Mary Crane Devlin passed away at the age of 84. She was born in Philadelphia on March 30, 1938 to her parents Francis Thomas and Catharine Condon Crane and grew up in East Falls, Pennsylvania with her three siblings, Tom, Catharine “Sissy”, and Francis “Hank” Crane.
During her early years Bobbie enjoyed music, days at the beach, playing squash and Field hockey at Germantown Cricket Club and making lifelong friends. She spent her summers with her family in Ship Bottom, New Jersey every summer of her formative years. Bobbie attended grade school at Holy Cross Catholic School in Mt. Airy, PA and attended high school at Mount St. Joseph’s Academy in Chestnut Hill, PA. She then continued her education at Gwynedd Mercy College, where she received her BS in Education, which led her to her career in teaching.
Later in life, she met John “Jack” Francis Devlin, and they were married on August 19, 2003, and they resided in Gwynedd Valley until her passing. Bobbie spent her life with Jack enjoying time with Jack’s children, grandchildren, good friends and days out on the golf course.
Bobbie commenced her illustrious career in teaching at Germantown Academy in 1964, where she taught for 43 years. At the beginning of her career, she taught kindergarten, and when GA decided to add a pre-kindergarten program, Bobbie spearheaded that program and taught Pre-K. After retirement from her full-time position, Bobbie continued to substitute teach at the school for another four years. To date, there is no teacher with so long a tenure at the institution, and during that tenure, she received the Distinguished Achievement Award for Outstanding Teaching as well as the class of 1760 Honorary Alumni Class award. Accolades, however, can never speak to the dedication and commitment that she had to her students and the institution as a whole. She had a unique energy that along with her vibrant personality, patience, discipline and creativity made her an absolute natural in the early childhood setting, where she taught her students the very basics of life. Those lessons laid the foundation to help inspire and mold over two generations of students to become successful adults in the world. As one of her former students once quipped “Her mantra during Qinger painting in Pre-K, ‘a little dab will do ya’ has always echoed in my mind. Whether it pertains to my business or life at home ‘a little dab will do ya’ reminds me that easy does it and one day at a time are lessons to live by”.
Beyond her students, she enthusiastically mentored many other teachers, including family members, who continue to teach today. She was always open and generous with the goal of making everyone around her better at what they did. She also had a “side” summer career at the Surf City Hotel on Long Beach Island, NJ, which was owned by her brother, Hank for 26 years. Having been brought up in the restaurant business, she was a natural in that realm as well, where she thrived as the dining room manager and once again inspired and taught others. Needless to say, she was a woman with a passionate work ethic.
She found joy in a variety of things in life; watching the sunset over the bay, singing or reading to children, dancing, playing golf and needlepoint. She sang in the church choir at Saint Anthony of Padua Church in Ambler, Pennsylvania, where she was a member of the parish almost all of her adult life. She loved to laugh with friends and family, and even down to her last days in this life, she maintained her sense of humor, not to mention her dignity.
She will be best remembered as someone who always “showed up” and cared for everyone around her. She was a beloved aunt to all of her nieces and nephews, and she treated them all as if they were her own children, and she was a great friend. There wasn’t a birthday, holiday, life mile stone, challenge, or life trial or tribulation, where she wasn’t either a cheerleader for joy or a shoulder to cry on. “Polly Photographer” had a passion for capturing happy moments at events on her camera and always made a lasting memory with a framed piece of artwork to memorialize the day. If there is a snapshot of her, which all who knew her would remember, it is of a woman with a song in her heart, a smile on her face, and a twinkle in her eye.
Bobbie is survived by her husband, John “Jack” Devlin, her sister, Catharine “Sissy” Crane Couch, her sister-in-law, Nancy Crane, her stepchildren and their husbands, Sheila and Steven George and Deirdre and Anthony Kelly and their children, Madelyn, Kirstin and Alexander George and Colin Kelly, and her nieces and nephews, Roberta “Bertie” Woeltz, Marjorie “Mudgie” Holland, Richard “Crane” Couch, Kathleen “Babe” Couch Lortie, Beth Anne Crane, Deborah “Debbie” duHadway, and Francis “Frank” Crane.
Relatives and friends were invited to her Memorial Mass on Monday, August 14, 2023 at 10:30 A.M. at St. Anthony of Padua Church, 259 Forest Avenue, Ambler, PA 19002 in the Mary Chapel. Interment was private.
Please consider making a gift in Bobbie’s memory to Germantown Academy. All contributions will be added to an existing Financial aid fund which will provide tuition support for qualified families. A donation may either be mailed to 340 Morris Road, Fort Washington, PA 19034 or visit the link above to make a donation online.
www.wetzelandson.com
Copyright Wetzel and Son, Inc. All Rights Reserved.