Maree F. Rambo, volunteer and Grace Kelly bridesmaid

Posted 3/14/12

Maree Frisby Rambo, 84, a volunteer for many cultural and charitable organizations and a bridesmaid to Princess Grace of Monaco, died March 3 of an apparent aneurysm at her home in Chestnut Hill.

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Maree F. Rambo, volunteer and Grace Kelly bridesmaid

Posted

Maree Frisby Rambo, 84, a volunteer for many cultural and charitable organizations and a bridesmaid to Princess Grace of Monaco, died March 3 of an apparent aneurysm at her home in Chestnut Hill.

A friend of Grace Kelly from the Stevens School in Philadelphia, Mrs. Rambo was one of the bridesmaids at the royal wedding of Kelly to Prince Ranier III of Monaco in April of 1956.

Mrs. Rambo’s friendship with Princess Grace continued after the wedding with frequent telephone calls and trips together in Europe, Canada and the United States. When the princess was in Philadelphia, she and Mrs. Rambo would meet for lunch at Campbell’s Place in Chestnut Hill.

Princess Grace, an Academy Award-winning actress who had given up her career for marriage to a European prince, died while driving on a Riviera mountain road in September 1982 after suffering a stroke.

In 1997, Mrs. Rambo donated her bridesmaid dress to the Philadelphia Museum of Art, which also owns Princess Grace’s wedding dress.

An active volunteer, Mrs. Rambo had chaired fund-raisers for the Philadelphia Committee for the Homeless, the National Council on Alcoholism and Thomas Jefferson University Hospital, where she was a member of the Women’s Committee. She also was a volunteer at Monkey Business, a Chestnut Hill thrift shop formerly operated by the committee.

She was a lover of animals and an active supporter of the ASPCA.

She was a member of the Philadelphia Cricket Club, Sunnybrook Golf Club, the Union League and the Cape May Beach Club.

She is survived by daughters Linda Farnum and Louise Vanderlip; a stepdaughter, Wendy Shuford; five grandchildren, and three great-grandchildren. Mrs. Rambo’s husband, Joseph Rambo, died in 1993. Her first husband, Arvid A. Pamp, also preceded her in death. A memorial service was held March 13 at the Church of St. Martin-in-the-Fields in Chestnut Hill.  Memorial donations may be made to the Abington Health Foundation, 1200 Old York Rd., Abington, PA 19001. – WF

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