Mary Olive Greco

Mary Olive Ordway Greco of Taylor, Arizona died March 11, 2011 in Mesa, Arizona after a short illness. She was 102. Mrs. Greco was born to Charles and Bertha Ordway on October 17, 1908 in Tunbridge, Vermont at her family's farm. She spent the early years of her life in the New England States where she graduated from Montpelier, Vermont Seminary in 1926. She then worked as a public stenographer and secretary for many years in Cambridge, Massachusetts and in New York City. Her work included assisting the FBI in the capture of the gangster, Al Capone, and supporting forestry crews in the cleanup of the 1938 Hurricane in the Eastern U.S. This is where she met and married Verneldo A Greco. They moved to the Southwestern U.S. where they lived, worked, fished, and raised their four sons. She knitted sweaters for servicemen as a Red Cross volunteer. She was an honorary Life Member of the U.S. Air Force Air Defense Team for her service as a volunteer in the Ground Observer Corp monitoring enemy aircraft during World War II. Mary was a member of the Taylor 5th Ward of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. She was a dedicated genealogical researcher and was a Mayflower descendant. For the past 12 years she made over 600 children's books that were used in humanitarian aid projects. In 2009, the Northern Arizona Area Agency on Aging presented Mrs. Greco with the Accomplished Elder Award. She is survived by her four sons, Robert James (Dorcie Palmer) of Overgaard, Arizona, Byron Lloyd (Karen Baugh) of Pagosa Springs, Colorado, William Neil (Connie Smith) of Grand Junction, Colorado, and Bruce Calvin (Donna Spencer) of Flagstaff, Arizona. She has 23 grandchildren and 52 great-grandchildren. The public visitation will be 6:00 to 8:00 P.M. Friday, March 18, 2011 at Owens Livingston Mortuary~Heritage Chapel, 84 E. 19th S. in Snowflake, Arizona and one hour prior to services at the church. Funeral services will begin 10:00 A.M. Saturday, March 19, 2011 at the Taylor Stake Center of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 300 W. Willow Lane, Taylor. The concluding service and interment will follow at the Reed Hatch Memorial Cemetery in Taylor, Arizona.