Mary Anna (Kintner) Spurlin

Mary Anna Kintner Spurlin of Wilmington, DE, died Friday, January 5, 2018. Born in 1920 in Perryville, MD, she was the daughter of the late Hon. Floyd J. Kintner and Mabel Wright Kintner. She is survived by her daughters, Alice Waegel of West Chester, PA, and Margaret Spurlin of Shepherdstown, WV; stepdaughter, Barbara Spurlin Hickman of Lake Worth, FL; sons, William Spurlin of Northborough, MA, and Charles Spurlin of Wilmington, DE; six grandchildren; and four great grandchildren. “Jo” Kintner was a 1942 chemistry graduate of Washington College of Chestertown, MD. Immediately after graduation she became a war worker at the Hercules Powder Company in Wilmington, DE, where her future husband, Dr. Harold Spurlin was a leading chemical engineer. The two were married in 1944 and made a home together in Brandywine Springs, DE. Jo Spurlin was known for her wit, skills as a bridge player, patience with her often wayward children, athleticism (golf), gardening and piercing intelligence. Although her family responsibilities kept her from playing often, she was a pianist and filled the home with the music of Chopin, Liszt and Beethoven. Widely read, she introduced her children to the cultural world she knew as a child, taking them to New York and Philadelphia to concerts, museums and plays. In her later years she, her children and grandchildren visited Rangeley, ME, each summer. Although she did not hike much after a few years, she was always the Scrabble player, and in fact excelled at that game even through her final two years in a nursing home down the street from the family house. Her children were with her often in her final illness. Mary was preceded in death by her husband, Dr. Harold M. Spurlin; sister, Margaret Bramble of Chestertown, MD; and brother, Floyd Kintner, Jr. of Baltimore, MD. A celebration of Mary’s life is scheduled for Wednesday, January 17, 2018, 12 Noon, at the Mendenhall Inn of Chadds Ford, PA. Interment will be in Perryville, MD. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the Susan Komen Breast Cancer Foundation in care of Lee A. Patterson & Son Funeral Home, P.A., P.O. Box 766, Perryville, MD 21903-0766.