Muriel S. Rector, 90, formerly of Alexandria, died on Dec. 19, 2012, in Kilmarnock, Va. Born Oct. 17, 1922, in Cincinnati, Ohio, she is predeceased by her parents, Jessie Allen Schmick and Walter Paul Schmick, four brothers, Walter, Allen, Philip, and Paul Schmick and one sister, Angela Schmick Ruttle.
Muriel graduated from the University of Cincinnati in 1944 where she was a member of Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority, and later received a master’s degree in elementary education from Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio. She moved with her husband, George B. Rector, to Lakewood, Ohio, in 1953, and taught at Lincoln Elementary School there for many years. Each summer Muriel traveled extensively throughout Europe, the Middle East, and Russia, and studied in England and Italy. In 1984 she retired to Alexandria, where she volunteered at the Carpenter’s Shelter and worked at Crown Bookstore in the Bradlee Shopping Center. She was a member of Mount Vernon Presbyterian Church in Alexandria. Her other interests were knitting, studying the Civil War, and cooking for friends, family and neighbors.
Survivors include two sons, Cleland M. Rector of Wheaton, Ill., and Dr. James B. Rector of Boulder Colo., a daughter, Joy Rector Gwaltney of White Stone, Va., and five grandchildren, Darren Rector, Carey Rector, Jessica Rector, Ellen Gwaltney Johnson, and William Blair Gwaltney.
A private graveside service will take place on May 4, 2013, at Spring Grove Cemetery in Cincinnati, Ohio.