MYRTLE GRACIA AMOTT

Obituary of MYRTLE GRACIA AMOTT Myrtle Gracia VanValkenburg Amott, 89, of Umatilla, Florida, transitioned from her earthly life, in the early morning of the autumn equinox and full moon, September 22, 2010. Myrtle was born in Mineola NY in 1921 to the late Paul I. and Mildred Smith Van Valkenburg, and grew up in Rockville Center and East Marion on Long Island in New York. She was graduated from Umatilla High School in 1939 and went on to the Florida State College for Women in Tallahassee and the Brooklyn College of Nursing. She married Robert Amott Sr. in Glenwood Springs, Colorado, May13, 1944 where her husband was a member of the 10th Mountain Division, and where Myrtle provided nursing services during WW II. After the war the couple settled in Levittown, LI, NY and raised three children. While the children were young Myrtle was a homemaker and community volunteer. She helped found the Levittown Public Library, served as PTA President, and was a Girl Scout leader. Later she had careers as a commercial artist and technician, a travel agent, and ran her own Bed & Breakfast, Rampant Hedges. Myrtle was socially aware, with an intense interest in everything and everyone around her. She was an avid reader, a news junkie, and a computer wiz, with a large roster of email pals. Myrtle was a member and officer of the Van Valkenburg Association. A lifelong designer, Myrtle created and decorated her homes and gardens, and crafted clothing, furnishings, jewelry, and ceramics. A birdwatcher and animal lover, she had a succession of beloved pets, culminating in her relationship with dear Sweetie, her cockerpoo companion. Inheriting her father's Peterson's Field Guide to the Birds and his love and awe of everything in nature " plants, animals, and the celestial majesty of the heavens above, Myrtle was a consummate child of the universe. Myrtle is survived by her three children: Sherry Tippey, Penny Faul and Robert Amott Jr.; sisters Bea Brandi and Marion Tilebein; sister-in-law Helen Jerram; cousins Richard Baase, Carolyn Ferry, Robert Van Valkenburg and Nancy Seroff; nieces Barbara Moore, Lenore Serencko and Charlene Van Soest; nephews Lee Brandi; Ray Brandi; and Leonard Jerram; grandchildren Michael Faul, Timothy Faul, Jennifer Morgan, and Jake Tippey, and 10 great-grandchildren: Jessica, Juliana, Jonathan, Nicholas, Timothy, Jocelyn, Samuel, Elliot, Clover and Violet, and her caregiver Gloria Brown. Services A private remembrance for Myrtle's family and friends will be held at her home on Sunday afternoon, September 26, from 3 to 5 PM. Memorial In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to the Cornerstone Hospice of Lake and Sumter Counties, or to the Audubon Society