Ethel Rosebrooks Larkin

Ethel Rosebrooks Larkin of Mansfield, CT, died April 6, 2015 in Agawam, MA. She was born June 4, 1925 to Harold G. and Lounette Curnalia Rosebrooks, and was brought up on the family farm, Keystone Dairy, on South Street in Willimantic, Connecticut. In her youth, Ethel was active in the First Baptist Church of Willimantic and attended the Windham schools. She graduated from Windham High School and always wished she had continued on to college. She would have liked to have been a lawyer. On September 30, 1944, Ethel married Lawrence Kingsley Larkin. Though married during the war, attendants chosen for the wedding were not military because she wanted the wedding to be as "normal" as possible during wartime. During the war she was an air raid warden, and she worked on some bases where Larry was stationed. In Norfolk, Virginia, she rode a motor scooter around base delivering messages. Following World War II, Ethel and Larry built their house on Mansfield City Road, settling in Mansfield. Before children Ethel worked at a research lab at the University of Connecticut, where she studied mastitis in dairy cows. She worked at a mailing house for Corn Products Corporation for many years. Ethel had a strong sense of responsibility, duty, and honor. She believed in family, community, and faith. She invested her time and energy in these things, believing actions more important than words, and demonstrated her values in many ways. Ethel was a member of the First Baptist Church of Mansfield for over 60 years. She was a 74 year member of Echo Grange in Mansfield Center, the Quinebaug Pomona, and the State and National Grange. The Grange provided an avenue for her support of agriculture. Ethel was a former 4-H leader. She remained an active member of the Mansfield Historical Society and Town of Mansfield's Cemetery Committee for many years. Ethel was predeceased by her husband Lawrence K. Larkin. Ethel leaves sisters, Marion R. Emmons and Ruth P. Rosebrooks; daughters Margery L. Gerard (Peter), Elizabeth E. Sawyer; grandsons, Joshua D. Gerard, Eli L. Gerard (Min Young); granddaughters Julie K. Shipe (Vince) and Wendy S. Sawyer (P J Eastman); as well as three great grandsons: Nathan G. Nicholson, David V. Shipe, and Gabriel L. Shipe. It is with sadness that we lost Ethel to dementia over the past decade. In her own way, she remained a strong and vibrant woman at her home with the assistance of caregivers from Home Instead and finally at the Atrium in Agawam, MA. Ethel graced our lives, she left her mark. The family wishes to thank you all for whatever part you played in Ethel's life, for without the interaction of friends and family there is little "life" in LIFE. In remembrance of Ethel watch the birds, make some brownies, call a friend or take a walk. In lieu of flowers the family requests contributions may be sent to The First Baptist Church of Mansfield, Storrs, CT to the Lawrence K. Larkin Memorial Fund. Memorial Service will be held at the First Baptist Church of Mansfield on Saturday, April 11, 2015 at 11:00 a.m. with a reception to follow. Burial will be private at Hillside Cemetery, Mansfield, CT. Please sign the on-line guest book at www.potterfuneralhome.com