Bertha G. (Gricius) Acebo

Bertha G. Acebo (born Biruta Ona Griciute), died at 95 on Monday, April 30, 2018 in Plainfield, CT.  She was born on February 19, 1923 in Dorchester, Boston, MA to Petronele Petrute and Michael Gricius.  Her parents immigrated to the U.S. in 1906 and 1908 from Lithuania, a country she loved but was able to visit only once.  She was the sister of the late Dorothy O’Brien. Beth married Jose Acebo of Quincy, MA in 1943 and, after the war ended, moved with him to Colorado where daughter Christine and son Michael were born and raised.  Following their divorce in 1976, Beth became a bit of a nomad, living for various periods of time in Snowmass, Colorado, Albuquerque, NM, and Sedona, AZ, working as a bookkeeper and office manager.  In 1983 she moved to Connecticut to be close to her daughter, son and granddaughters Kyle and Paige.  She was also close to and cared deeply for her sister Dorothy’s children, Dennis, Rosanne and David O’Brien and Dianne O’Brien Davidson and her husband Mark, daughter Bonnie, and son Tim. 

In Connecticut Beth continued her “travels” and lived in Wethersfield, Willington, Storrs, Mansfield, Ashford, Brooklyn, Pomfret, Somers, and Farmington before her final residence at Villa Maria Nursing and Rehabilitation Community in Plainfield CT.  She was an explorer at heart, always finding interesting places to see and people to meet wherever she lived.  Several trips to Europe invigorated her and she kept meticulous diaries recording what she saw and discovered.  She presented slide shows about these trips on several occasions to local senior centers.  Wherever she went she inevitably met someone she found interesting, coming away from the encounter with a snapshot of their life story.  A line at a grocery store checkout, for example, usually yielded at least one biographical sketch to be related to friends and family.

Although she did not go to college, she was a passionate learner her whole life.  She learned about and advocated for healthy diets and good nutrition in the 1950’s, long before those ideas were popular.  She read voraciously, nearly up until her death, always needing to know as much as she could about her world.  Beth was also an avid gardener and an accomplished artist, leaving behind some lovely watercolor paintings and many photographs. 

A private ceremony will be held by the family at a later date. Our family would like to thank the staff at Arden Courts, Farmington and Villa Maria, Plainfield for their compassionate and respectful care of Beth. 

 Service Information