Grace A. Worden

She was born in Dalton, MA, December 15, 1915, the daughter of Ernest A. and Gertrude B. (Warren) Halle. She grew up in Dalton attending local schools and was a 1933 graduate of Dalton High School.

Following her graduation from high school, she worked as a U.S. currency paper inspector at the Crane Currency Paper Mill in Pittsfield, MA. In 1941, Grace became a civilian volunteer for the Aircraft Warning Service, the civilian arm of the Army’s Ground Observer Corps. On the east coast, the AWS was under the auspices of the Army Air Force’s 1st Interceptor Command. In 1943, she received her “wings” and Merit Award for recognition of over 1,000 hours contributed. Inactivation of the AWS was announced on May 29, 1944. Also during this time, she attended business college. She then worked at the Dodge-Plymouth Dealership, and as a long distance telephone operator in Brattleboro, VT, before marrying and moving to Hinsdale in 1948.

While residing in Hinsdale, Mrs. Worden worked for many years as the business manager for the former Royce’s Garage in Hinsdale. She was very active within her community, serving the Town of Hinsdale as Clerk of the Municipal Court; a member and Chairman of the Hinsdale School Board; Deacon and treasurer for many years at the First Congregational Church of Hinsdale, only stepping down when she moved to Keene in 2006.

Mrs. Worden served as treasurer of the Wantastiquet Grange; the Hinsdale Women’s Club; the Hinsdale Historical Society and the Women’s Fellowship Club at the church. She was always a very dedicated, active volunteer for many organizations in the area. She had been a daily volunteer for over 20 years at the Hinsdale Elementary School, working first with students in the Learning Center, and then with the children in the kindergarten classes.

She was a member of the Exeter Chapter of the National Society Daughters of the American Revolution, and an associate member of the Ashuelot Chapter of Keene. She was also a member of the Reverend Joseph Adams Chapter, in the State of New Hampshire, of the National Society of Colonial Dames VXII Century.

Family members include a son, Richard Worden and his wife, Elaine of Jordan, New York; a daughter, Bea Dalton and her husband, Michael, of Exeter; a daughter-in-law, Ruthie Warren of Keene; six grandchildren, Sheryl and Scott McGovern, Lori and Mike Kimble, Marcus and Kelli Worden, Jill Dalton and Rhonda Brooks, Lee Ann Dalton and Justin Kane, Scott Dalton; eleven great-grandchildren; a sister-in-law, Doris Hallock of Hinsdale; nieces, nephews, great-nieces, great-nephews, and cousins. Her husband of 61 years, Homer C. Worden, whom she married on February 15, 1948, died October 29, 2009. She was predeceased by a son, Nelson Warren; two brothers, Ernest Halle and Walter Halle; two sisters, Velma Perry and Ruth Wright and three half-sisters, Ethel McAlpine, Marjorie Wales, and Betty Engler.

A memorial service will be held Sunday, May 5, 2013 at 1:00PM in the First Congregational Church, 36 Main Street, Hinsdale. Burial will follow in the Pine Grove Cemetery, Depot Street, Hinsdale. Family and friends are welcome. There are no public calling hours.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made in Mrs. Worden’s memory to the First Congregational Church, PO Box 22, Hinsdale, NH 03451-0022, or to the Hinsdale Historical Society, PO Box 194, Hinsdale, NH 03451-0194.

The Foley Funeral Home, 49 Court Street, Keene, NH is assisting the family with the arrangements.