New Allied Members
Mary Elizabeth Tenerelli
Welcome New Members
Kim Bishop PO Box 00600332 Sioux Falls , SD 57186 KimBishop1 @ aol . com
Ann Clary 1775 San Pasqual St Pasadena , CA 91106 ann @ gardenzeus . com
Perla Sofia Curbelo PO Box 9802 San Juan , PR 00908-9802 ( 787 ) 379-3343 zurdamedia @ gmail . com
Keith Dill 282 Hampton Trail Springfield , OH 45502 keith @ pace49 . com
Paul Haden The Fife Corner Orchard / Willow Oaks Country Club 2551 Hadensville Fife Rd Goochland , VA 23063-2707 ( 804 ) 310-1372 paulchaden @ aol . com
Sonya Harris 503 Woodstown Rd Woolwich Township , NJ 08085 ( 856 ) 725-1644 sonya . harris413 @ gmail . com
Francesca Holinko NYBG : School of Professional Horticulture 2900 Southern Blvd Bronx , NY 10458 fholinko2002 @ yahoo . com
Cassandra Inserillo NYBG : School of Professional Horticulture 2900 Southern Blvd Bronx , NY 10458 c . m . inserillo @ gmail . com
Tom Johnson Magnolia Plantation and Gardens 3550 Ashley River Rd Charleston , SC 29414 ( 843 ) 296-8078 camelliaman @ msn . com
Conor Kimball 2922 Zendt Dr Fort Collins , CO 80526 ecitonburchelli @ gmail . com
Laura McKillop Johnsen Landscapes & Pools 81 Cedar Hill Rd Bedford , NY 10506 lam5991 @ msn . com
Susan Mertz 15403 W . 79th Terrace Lenexa , KS 66219 susan @ botanicalshots . com
Mira Peck PO Box 56 Dover Plains , NY 12522 mira @ terralovegardening . com
Sheri Richerson 403 East Bond Avenue Marion , IN 46952 ( 765 ) 251-4569 SheriAnnRicherson @ exoticgardening . com
Kathleen Salisbury Katsura Horticultural 2811 Hauck Rd Green Lane , PA 18054 katsurahorticultural @ gmail . com
Sarah Smith 4656 SE Washington St Milwaukie , OR 97222 sarah @ thegardensmith . com
Sharon St . John 428 Sunny Ln Tyler , TX 75702 sharonstjohn8 @ gmail . com
Robin Stockwell 128 Zils Rd La Selva Beach , CA 95076 ( 831 ) 761-0342 robin . stockwell @ gmail . com
Mary Ann Uhlmann 304 N . Hillcrest Dr . SW Marietta , GA 30064 maryann @ plantspeopleandplaces . com
New Allied Members
Timothy Miotto Devron Sales Ltd 11675 Burnaby Rd Wainfleet , ON L0S 1V0 ( 905 ) 899-2047 tmiotto @ devronltd . com
Cheryl Frey Salt of the Earth Seed Company PO Box 226 Mattituck , NY 11952 ( 631 ) 664-1945 info @ saltoftheearthseeds . com
Obituary
Mary Elizabeth Tenerelli
September 11 , 1959 — December 8 , 2016
To her fellow GWA members and scores of friends on Facebook , she was simply Elizabeth Tenerelli ; so many of them were a little confused when friends from childhood called her Miliza in Facebook posts .
The confusion arose mostly on a Facebook page called “ Prayers for Elizabeth ,” an online group of almost 300 friends , many of whom she had never met . They came together to offer support , prayers , inspirational quotes and beautiful images after Elizabeth was diagnosed last April with pancreatic cancer . Many called , wrote notes and sent gifts or flowers to the woman who called them “ my prayer warriors .”
“ Actually , Elizabeth was her middle name ,” explained her husband , Joe Tenerelli . “ She did not like her first name , Miliza , because people could neither pronounce it or spell it correctly . So , when she became a Facebook and GWA member , she decided to just go by her middle name , Elizabeth .”
On December 8 , Elizabeth , a photographer , writer and devoted dog owner , died at home in Springfield , Pennsylvania , ( a suburb of Philadelphia ) after several chemotherapy treatments were unsuccessful . A memorial service was held on January 14 , 2017 , at the Princeton Presbyterian Church in Springfield — the same church where she and Joe were married almost 27 years ago .
Growing up in Springfield , Miliza ( nee Godzieba ) dreamed of becoming a writer . She joined the school newspaper at Springfield High School , became an editor , and later graduated from Temple University in Philadelphia with a degree in journalism .
“ She held several jobs as a writer , but the one she enjoyed the most was with the Juvenile Diabetes Foundation , where she worked in the Philadelphia and then New York offices ,” Joe said . She returned to Philadelphia to become the communications director of the Parenteral Drug Association ( PDA ), where she met her future husband , a freelance graphic designer she hired to design a logo . They were married on May 19 , 1990 .
After the PDA moved to Virginia , Elizabeth worked as a freelance writer , copy editor , and as a rewrite person on books , but it was photography that captured her imagination . On a trip to Cape May , New Jersey , “ her favorite place in the world ,” Joe recalled , “ She took a beautiful photograph of a sunset with an old Olympus camera and launched a new career .” Among the thousands of photographs she shot were numerous images from public gardens such as Longwood and Chanticleer . “ Her photographs were exhibited in about half a dozen shows in small galleries ,” Joe said . “ And were published in 2010 in her book of photographs and romantic poems , You & No Other : Whispers of Love .”
At Elizabeth ’ s memorial service , friends spoke of the role that Facebook had played in getting to know her . As her husband noted , “ It was on Facebook that Miliza became aware of the Garden Writers Association , and became a member . She became friends with hundreds of GWA members , and met many of them in person at the Philadelphia Flower Show or elsewhere . Others she talked to on the phone .”
— Denise Cowie and Joe Tenerelli
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