Adelaide “Mouse” Storer Rowley passed away peacefully on March 31, 2016, at her home in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. She was 96. She always put her family above all and was devoted to her friends, charitable work and animal welfare. She and her husband, Edward D. Rowley, loved Vermont and fell in love with the Mad River Valley. They purchased a small home there in 1973 in Warren, where they traveled and stayed frequently. Their family enjoyed skiing and golfing at Sugarbush, shopping in Waitsfield and attending the Fourth of July parade in Warren. Mrs. Rowley and her family visited The Valley continuously for more than 40 years. They were introduced to The Valley by her brother, Francis E. Storer Jr., and his wife, Nancy Bruce, who had a home there. They enjoyed many happy holidays there, took long walks on country roads and adored The Valley's great restaurants and The Warren Store.
Born in New York City in 1920, Mrs. Rowley was the daughter of Francis E. Storer Sr. and Eleanor Hastings. Educated at Miss Hewitt's Classes in New York City, where she was senior class president, she did volunteer work for the Junior League, Red Cross and other charities during WWII and later was a secretary in the health field. "Never one to sit at home and twiddle my thumbs, volunteering has always offered me a way to build connections through my love for people," she once said. Mrs. Rowley lived in Chicago from 1950 to 1958 and then in the Boston area, where she did volunteer work for numerous charities, including Goddard House Assisted Living, the Women's Exchange, the Washington National Cathedral and Church of the Redeemer, where she served for years on the altar guild. She was also a member of The Country Club in Brookline and the Chilton Club and the Emery Bag in Boston. She and her husband also had a condo in Florida.
Mrs. Rowley had a peerless sense of humor; the last thing she did before passing was to laugh. Beloved wife of Edward D. Rowley, who worked at Harvard Business School and preceded her in death, and devoted mother of Maeve Magee; Edward D. Rowley Jr. (Tina Pope), and Storer H. Rowley (Carolyn Lesh); grandmother Renana and Dylan Magee, Mary and Elizabeth Rowley and Catharine Rowley, and great-grandmother of three. Visitation will be 4 to 6 p.m. this Thursday, April 7, at J.S. Waterman & Sons, 580 Commercial Street, Boston, MA 02109. A memorial service will be held Friday, April 8, at 1 p.m. at Church of the Redeemer, 379 Hammond Street, Chestnut Hill, MA 02467, followed by a reception at The Country Club in Brookline. A private family burial service will be held Friday at Mt. Auburn Cemetery. In lieu of flowers please send donations to the Buddy Dog Humane Society, Inc., 151 Boston Post Road, Sudbury, MA 01776.
