Graham

Velma Ruth “Bunnie” Rabbitt Graham died at St. Mary’s Home in Erie on Monday. She had lived there since June 2008.

Velma was born in Donegal Township to John E. and Cora Goldinger Rabbitt. She lived to be a “ripe old age.”

Velma was raised in Donegal Township and graduated from Butler High School. She moved to Erie, originally working at Erie Resistor and then at General Electric.

She married Arthur L. Graham on Oct. 22, 1951. They both worked at General Electric and built their home close-by, working alongside each other. Art died on Jan. 17, 1968. Velma continued to work at General Electric until retirement.

Flowers surrounded her home which she kept with great pride. She enjoyed traveling in the continental United States, Hawaii, Canada and Mexico. In February 1988 she ventured to Australia, pleased to have traveled half way around the world.

She was on the board of the Erie Chapter of the United States Amateur Ballroom Dancers Association. In 1993, she danced in an exhibition in Toledo, Ohio, receiving high remarks from the judges in rumba and swing. She loved music and dancing and always had a song in her heart. In 2003, Velma was recognized by the founders of the Stardust Dance Club for her 19 years of work in the organization.

Velma made long lasting friendships from her travels and dancing. She had a particular soft spot for animals, enjoyed shopping and was always ready to go out to lunch.

Velma was preceded in death by her parents, John E. Rabbitt in 1969 and Cora Goldinger Rabbitt in 1957; her siblings and their spouses, Esther and Nigeb John, Marcella and Harold Jewell, James and Gilda Rabbitt, Henrietta and James Heaton, Hazel and Robert Lyman, Charles E. Rabbitt, John K. and Mary E. Rabbitt, and Gerald and Mary L. Rabbitt.

Surviving are a sister-in-law, Aneita Rabbitt, along with nieces, nephews, cousins and friends.

The excellent care and heartfelt compassion offered by the staff of St. Mary’s East was appreciated.

GRAHAM — Friends of Velma Ruth “Bunnie” Rabbitt Graham, who died Monday, Jan. 9, 2012, will be received at the

Hile Funeral Home of Chicora, 339 Chicora Fenelton Road, Chicora from 1 to 9 p.m. today. A blessing service will be at 11 a.m. Wednesday at the funeral home with the Rev. William J. Ritzert, a retired Roman Catholic priest and chaplain at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Butler, officiating. He will be assisted by the Rev. Joseph Boomhower, pastor of Holy Trinity Lutheran Church, Chicora. Interment will be in St. Patrick Cemetery, Sugar Creek Township, Armstrong County.Memorial contributions in Mrs. Graham’s name may be made to the Humane Society of Northwestern Pennsylvania, 2407 Zimmerly Road, Erie, PA 16506 or to the Emmaus Soup Kitchen, 218 E. 11th Street, Erie, PA 16507.Condolences may be sent online by visiting www.hilefh.com.