ROCKLAND — Elizabeth McGrath Gerlach, 84, died Aug. 28, 2013, at Quarry Hill’s Anderson Inn in Camden.

She was born in Philadelphia, Pa., May 18, 1929, the fifth of nine children of Anna Burke and Thomas McGrath.

Elizabeth met and married the love of her life, Frederick Gerlach, in 1952, and they lived in Valley Cottage, N.Y., until 1969, and later in Quakertown, Pa. She moved to Maine, living in the Midcoast area since 1987.

Elizabeth completed clinical pastoral education and established her work in hospice services and patient advocacy in hospitals in Allentown, Bethlehem and Quakertown, Pa., before moving to Maine. She embodied this pastoral caring in her interactions with everyone she encountered.

She had a deep spiritual faith based in her Catholic and Celtic heritage, and was nourished by frequent retreats, meditation, poetry and the fellowship of others.

To her siblings and their families she was a warm, caring and supportive/nurturing presence.

She was predeceased by her husband in 1985; and son Thomas in 2002. She is survived by her sister, Rosemarie McGrath Turcotte of Londonderry, N.H.; her brother, William McGrath of Eddington Pa.; her daughter, Jane of Sullivan; two sons and their wives, Dr. Robert Gerlach and Dr. Rosemarie T. Lombardi of Chugiak, Alaska, and Edward B. and Nancy S. Gerlach of Berwick, Pa.; seven marvelous grandchildren; and many treasured nieces and nephews.

A celebration of Elizabeth'slife will be held Saturday, Aug. 31, at 11 a.m. in the Activities Room at Stella Maris House, 148 Broadway in Rockland. Visiting hours will be held that day from 3 to 5 p.m. at Burpee, Carpenter & Hutchins Funeral Home, 110 Limerock St. in Rockland.

Memorial donations may be made to Kno-Wal-Lin Homecare and Hospice, 170 Pleasant St., Rockland, ME 04841 or Meetingbrook Hermitage, 64 Barnestown Road, Camden, ME 04843. Interment will be at a later date in Quakertown, Pa.

To share a memory or condolence with Elizabeth's family, visit her Book of Memories online at the funeral home.