Gardener was active in social organizations
5/21/2006CYGNET, Ohio - Genevieve Tyson, 91, a farmer, gardener, and homemaker who was known for her commitment to social organizations in her rural community, died of a heart attack Wednesday in her home here.
Mrs. Tyson, who was well-known for baking and decorating wedding cakes for many years, was a charter member of the Ohio Association of Garden Clubs, and a 50-year member of the Bowling Green Woman's Club.
"She was a classy lady who had a lot of energy and talent," her son Kenneth said. "She never wasted a minute of her life," he said, noting that she not only volunteered in a number of social organizations, but also spent many hours tending her garden or helping friends.
She often could be found in her expansive flower bed on the family farm along State Rt. 281.
Born Genevieve Kerr on a family farm in Cygnet, she grew to love the rural lifestyle of her upbringing, her son said.
"She enjoyed her life on the farm and died on the same farm where she was born," he said.
A charter member of the Wood County Hospital Guild and a former trustee of the Wood County Mental Health Center, she served as president of the Ohio Association of Garden Clubs for many years.
A Cygnet High School graduate, Mrs. Tyson married Dale Tyson on April 25, 1932. During the Depression, the couple struggled to start a grain farm in rural Defiance County before they eventually took over the family farm in Cygnet. Her husband died in 1998.
"She always said they didn't have two or three dollars when they got married, but they made it because they were hard workers," her son said.
She was a longtime member of the Wayne United Methodist Church and was active for many years in the church's women's group.
Surviving are her sons, Dale, Jr., and Kenneth; seven grandchildren; nine great-grandchildren, and a great-great-grandchild.
Services will be at 1:30 p.m. today in the Deck-Hanneman Funeral Home.
The family suggests tributes to Wayne United Methodist Church or a charity of the donor's choice.