Mary Ellen Ladow Hill died on July 12 at her beloved home in Oak Bluffs. She was 94.

She was born in Woodbury, N.J. to Dorothy and Arthur Ladow. She attended the New Jersey College for Women — which was later named Douglass College at Rutgers University — and earned a degree in library science in 1950.

She met her husband Donald when he rented a room from Mary Ellen’s mother. They were married for more than 70 years.

Mary Ellen devoted her life to her family and service. She worked diligently to share her love of history through the Daughters of the American Revolution. She was regent of the Ann Whitall chapter in N.J. as well as the Bill of Rights chapter in Va. Additionally, she was a docent at Sully Plantation and the Daughters of the American Revolution Museum.

In 1991 she and Donald winterized the family summer home on the Island. Mary Ellen joined the Sea Coast Defense chapter, was a docent at the Thomas Cooke House in Edgartown and a cataloger for the Dukes County Historical Society.

She was a member of the American Association of University Women (AAUW) for more than 50 years, and served in many leadership roles. She belonged to the P.E.O., the Martha’s Vineyard Garden Club and two book clubs. She was the children’s librarian and Sunday School teacher for the Woodbury Presbyterian Church, a member of the church circle and the library committee of the Fairfax Presbyterian Church and participated in many social and hospitality groups at the Federated Church of Martha’s Vineyard.

She will be remembered as a lifelong reader, a lover of nature and a crafter. She made beautiful quilts and counted cross stitch pieces. She loved dollhouses, decorating for holidays and digging through old artifacts.

Mary Ellen is survived by her children and their spouses: Elizabeth Hill and Norman Lehrer, David and Kelly Hill, and Mary Hill and Jim Long; her grandchildren Emily Lehrer Pierce, Benjamin Lehrer, Miranda Hill Jacob, Michael Hill, Megan Long and Delaney Long; and her great-grandchildren Oakland and Hudson Hill, Julien and Marcel Lehrer and Dylan Jacob.

She loved her husband and family dearly and was incredibly proud of her children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

A private service is being planned.