Mary Jane (Walker) Ambrose

Mary Jane Ambrose, of Southampton, passed away Monday, January 27, 2025, at Pottstown Hospital – Tower Health.

Born October 17, 1930 in Philadelphia, she was the daughter of the late Benjamin Franklin Walker and Edna Dorothy (Gutekunst) Walker, and the wife of the late Aloysius J. Ambrose Jr., to whom she was married 68 years.

Growing up in Roxborough, she lived on Wises Mill Road in Fairmount Park and spent her childhood along the Wissahickon Creek near Valley Green Inn, where she often enjoyed horseback rides and sleigh rides along the park trails.  After graduating from Roxborough High School in 1948, she went on to West Chester Teacher’s College, graduating in 1952 with a degree in Elementary Education.

After college, she worked as a kindergarten teacher at Shoemaker’s Elementary School in Elkins Park, PA.  She left there in 1956 to become a full-time Mother when their oldest son was born.  She later returned to teaching as a substitute teacher at Davis Elementary School in Southampton, PA from 1965 to 1967, and finally as a preschool teacher at Saint John’s United Methodist Church in Ivyland, PA from 1988 to 1993.

She often said her greatest joy was being a Mother and she loved spending time with her family.  Summers spent in Ocean City, NJ with the family were some of her favorite times.  She was an active member of the North & Southampton Reformed Church, volunteered at the Southampton Free Library, participated in the Meals on Wheels program delivering food to people in need in Lower Bucks County, and was the very first volunteer at Warminster Hospital.

Mary Jane is survived by: sons Steven Walker Ambrose and wife Elizabeth, of Pike Township, Robert Walker Ambrose, of Newtown; 5 grandchildren Caitlin (Ambrose) Volterano and husband Thomas, Alexandra Ambrose, Katherine Ambrose, Susan (Ambrose) Morgan and husband Michael, and Michael Ambrose; and 2 great-grandchildren Sophia and Alexa. In addition to her husband, Mary Jane is preceded in death by her oldest son, Frank Walker Ambrose (1956-2021), husband of Lorraine (Skelton) Ambrose of Southampton, PA.

In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made in her name to The North & Southampton Reformed Church, at 1380 Bristol Rd, Southampton, PA 18966, or online at http://www.nsrc1710.org. 

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