Emalene Mason Price

Emalene Mason Price was born on October 12, 1922. Her parents, Claude and Gertrude Mason, lived on a farm near Blissfield, Michigan. Emalene walked to a one-room school until high school, which was located in the town of Blissfield. The Mason family survived the Great Depression of the 1930’s on the farm, which is still operated by the family more than 100 years after it was acquired by Emalene’s grandfather in the early 1890’s. After graduating from Blissfield High School, Emalene enrolled at the University of Michigan, graduating in 1945. After graduation, she signed up to be a “Government Girl,” and moved to Washington, D.C. After a brief stint there, she volunteered for duty in Hawaii, where she met her future husband, William D. Price, an air force pilot stationed at Hickam Air Force Base. They were married in 1947, and their son, William C., was born in 1948. They were transferred to San Antonio, Texas, where James P., a son, was born in 1952. The family returned to Hickam Air Force Base from 1953 through 1956, where they lived on the base in a house that overlooked the Pearl Harbor Naval Base shipping channel. The family was transferred to McGuire Air Force Base in 1957, and settled in Mount Holly, purchasing a house near the high school. Lt. Col. Price retired in 1960, and pursued a second career as a civilian employee at McGuire. Emalene began teaching elementary school in the early 1960’s, spending most of her more than 20 year career teaching 4th grade at Folwell School in Mount Holly. Both sons attended Mount Holly schools and graduated from Rancocas Valley Regional High School. After she retired from teaching, she and her husband Bill travelled to many places in Europe, including Germany, Scotland, England, Switzerland, and Italy. The entire family attended the First United Methodist Church in Mt. Holly, where Emalene stayed active until last fall. She was also a member of the Mt. Holly Historical Society, acting as Treasurer for many years, and was an avid reader, enjoying her time as a member of a book club. She was a proud member of the University of Michigan Alumni Association, enthusiastically following the football team, and a long-time member of the American Association of University Women (AAUW). She continued to live in the family home in Mt. Holly after her husband’s passing in 2009, moving to a retirement home in Burlington last year. Emalene was predeceased by her sisters Luella and Sharon. She is survived by her brother Ted Mason and his wife Lois, of Blissfield; her son William C. and his wife Gretchen Hirschauer, of Kensington, Md., her son James P., and his wife Laura, of Eastampton, and five grandchildren: Michael Price and his wife Karyn of Fountanville, Pennsylvania, and their children Andrew and Aidan; James Michael Price (Spc, USAR) of Mt. Holly, Brian Patrick Price of Malvern, Pennsylvania, Rosemarie McGill (Senior Airman, USAF), and her husband Jonathan (Tech Sergeant, USAF), of Clovis, New Mexico, and Margaret Emily Price of St. Paul, Minnesota. In lieu of flowers, donations in her memory may be made to the First United Methodist Church, 25 Brainerd Street, Mt. Holly, N.J., 08060, or to the Mt. Holly Historical Society, P.O. Box 4081, Mt. Holly, N.J., 08060. There will be a visitation at the Perinchief Chapels, 438 High Street, Mt. Holly, from 5:00 to 7:00 pm on Tuesday, July 5, and a memorial service at the First United Methodist Church, 25 Brainerd Street, Mt. Holly, at 2:00 pm on Wednesday, July 6, with interment immediately following at the Mt. Holly Cemetery on Ridgeway Street.

Emalene Mason Price

October 12, 1922 - June 26, 2016