Ardis “Ardy” Marie (Ohrgren) Lovett, 92, passed away peacefully Friday, March 3, 2017, at Brown County Health & Living Community.
She was born Feb. 25, 1925, to Faun Imin (Maxwell) Ohrgren and Anders Emil Ohrgren in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio, where she married Carl Edward Lovett on March 2, 1946. Shortly after Carl died in 1979, Ardy moved to Brown County, Indiana, to live with her daughter, Cheryl Kenyon.
To make new friends, Ardy began working at the Ragtime Artistry Shop in Nashville, which led to working in the Nashville House Country Store for over 20 years. Ardy never met a stranger, and visitors to Brown County would return year after year to buy Nashville House apple butter from her. She delighted in receiving Christmas cards and letters from her customers all over the world.
Ardy was a Big Sister in Brown County Big Brothers Big Sisters; she volunteered on many levels for Brown County CETA/JTPA programs and Area XI Agency on Aging. She was a member of Sycamore Valley Senior Center and was a participant in Indiana Senior Community Employment Services. She also marched in the Spring Blossom Parade for many years; in 1985, Ardy won first prize dressed as an early Brown County settler leading the famous donkey, Bandit.
She wrote children’s stories, poems for all occasions, and dabbled in painting. She was a proud “Rosie the riveter” at Akron, Ohio’s Goodyear Aerospace Division during WWII, where she worked on Corsair fighter plane parts and tested parachute cords. She was previously active in the Catholic church, Girl Scouts, the American Heart Association and Salvation Army of Brown County. Ardy was a proud bell-ringer during the holidays and always supported the good work of the Salvation Army.
She will be missed by daughter, Cheryl Ann (Thomas) Kenyon of Nashville; and son, James Anders (Kimberly) Lovett of Abingdon, Virginia. She also leaves her sister, Marilyn Jean (Ohrgren) Sechrist of California; grandchildren, Brianna, Jared and Rebecca; and several nieces, nephews and cousins.
Per her wishes, she has been cremated.
Family and friends will gather at Kenyon’s Blossom Valley Farm later in the spring to honor a life well-lived.
The family wishes to thank Harold Cameron; the staff of Nashville Home Helpers; nurses Kathy and Rachael of Our Hospice of South Central Indiana; and especially the compassionate staff at Brown County Health & Living, who gave Ardy reasons to smile every day.
In Ardy’s memory, the family suggests contributions to the Salvation Army of Brown County, P.O. Box 1717, Nashville, IN 47448.
Online condolences may be made to the family at BondMitchellFuneralHome.com.
