Mary Margaret Southworth64, passed away peacefully on Thursday, September 8, 2016, at her home in Thetford, Vermont.

Wife of 46 years to Brenton K. Southworth, and beloved mother and grandmother, Mary leaves behind a trail of endless adventures, happiness and love that serve as the platform for her family's continued joy.

Mary was born in Burbank, California to Joseph W. Meder and Ruth Gehrig Meder. Growing up in Northridge, California, her parents owned an interior decorating business and were avid in the antique industry. Her father was a former trombonist for the Glenn Miller Band and her mother was a public relations specialist in the Hollywood movie industry and a holistic gardener to the stars. They instilled in Mary a love of classic movies, dance and big band music. Mary's children enjoyed her stories of getting piggy back rides from the cast of Bonanza and taking a ride on the back of Steve McQueen's motorcycle.

Mary attended Montclair Prep in Encino, CA. She often recounted taking the bus to the beach before school, walking to her grandmother's to make German pancakes, "crepes," and frying eggs on the sidewalk in the afternoon heat. She spent summers driving cross-country with her parents and brother to their second home on Blood Brook Road in Post Mills, VT. The family visited nearly every national park over the 10 years of this tradition.

Mary moved with her family to their Post Mills home in 1968. She attended Thetford Academy her senior year and graduated in 1969. She soon bought her first registered Morgan horse and spent long afternoons riding in the hills of West Fairlee, VT.

She met Brent Southworth at the age of 17 and the couple married on July 11,1970. In the course of their life together, the pair raised three daughters, founded several companies and ran a 12-acre farm. Mary always laughed at Brent's recollections of the many humorous stories that each of these endeavors afforded them.

In 1975, the couple purchased a "Currier and Ives" style farmhouse in Thetford, VT, fulfilling Mary's dream of owning a horse farm. They started Brent-Mar Farms that same year, and bred and sold registered Morgan Horses and German Shepherds.

Mary and Brent started Southworth Paint Company in 1980, which grew to over 100 employees, while they simultaneously maintained their active farm. 1993, they purchased Jay's Septic Tank Cleaning. Mary was often complimented for her phone demeanor, patiently helping people through the process, always taking time to understand their needs and get acquainted.

Despite the pulls of business, Mary and Brent made active family time a priority. They took their children fishing, clay pigeon shooting and four-wheeling. They spent winter weekends on snowmobile trails, summers picking berries and falls roasting marshmallows at their camp on Lake Fairlee. She attended nearly every sporting event in which her children participated. She also coached several youth basketball teams, always exuding her endless patience.

She was perhaps best known for her love of Christmas. Each year, Mary and Brent went in search of the "perfect" Christmas tree, a daylong endeavor. She selected room-filling trees and decorated then to the brim with colored lights, garland and ornaments. She instilled holiday traditions so magical, that at the time of her passing, her grown children had yet to miss a Christmas with her.

Mary possessed an adventurous soul. She loved to get lost in new places, see new sites and talk to interesting people. She struck up conversation wherever she went, smiling wide with each encounter.

With one or more of her daughters, she walked the streets of nearly every European city. She touched the Coliseum walls, sat in the Vatican's pews and drank champagne in a café where Hemingway once sat. She sipped coffee over looking the ocean in Positano, munched croissants in Hyde Park, saw "Oliver!" on the London stage and had wine beneath the Eiffel Tower at dusk. She viewed the Swiss Alps from atop the Schilthorn, attended the opera in Vienna, downed a stein in a German beer hall and nibbled tapas in San Sebastian. She sampled wines in remote French and Spanish countrysides, and drove dusty Tuscan streets.

Her favorite destination was Nantucket, where her family came together each 4th of July. She walked to the beach morning and night to watch the waves. She admired the fireworks with her husband, children and grandchildren seated on the beach around her.

Despite all her travels, when asked where she would live if she could live anywhere, Mary always responded, "I like where I live."

She showed those around her how to enjoy the nuances of daily life. In the mornings she liked to sit and drink her coffee with Brent, looking out at their farm. She loved to care for her German Shepherds and her many rescue horses. She relished walking her property at night and surveying the stars and the moon, and seeking out the constellations. She took time to appreciate both the beauty of her lilac tree in bloom and the family's Clydesdale, Maggie. She called herself a "raven" because she loved everything colorful, sparkly and pretty.

In her recent years, Mary could be found on their farm, taking a dip in the pool, feeding her horses on her four-wheeler, "PePe," or visiting her daughters and grandkids at their homes. An active grandparent, referred to as "GiGi," she put her grandbabies to bed, read them stories, took them to fairs, music classes, the movies and Disney Land. She taught them how to grain a horse, drive PePe and pick berries.

She perfected the example of how to be a wife, a mother, a friend and a provider. She called her grown children daily, finding comfort in knowing they were safe for the evening or having a good day. She dropped her life in an instant for their needs and was forgiving no matter the circumstance. She was fiercely loyal and loved those around her with zealous passion. She never shirked an opportunity to hold her family close. She lived her life with spirit and grace.

She was surrounded daily by love.

Mary is survived by her husband, Brenton; daughter Alissa Southworth Elder of Hanover, NH (husband Rick), daughter Varina Southworth of Plainfield, NH, daughter Marlena Southworth of Thetford, VT; three grandchildren, Hadrian Elder, Avalise Elder and Vienna Elder; and many nieces and nephews. Her parents and brother, Joseph Meder, predeceased her.

Funeral services will be held on Sunday, September 18 at 2:00 pm at the Post Mills Congregational Church, 449 Vermont Route 244, Post Mills, VT. A burial and reception will follow.

Rand-Wilson Funeral Home of Hanover, NH is handling arrangements.