Maria VanVolkenburg

Gales Ferry — Maria Anne VanVolkenburg, 50, of Gales Ferry, passed away on Saturday, Sept. 16, 2017, in Rhode Island.

She was born on Dec. 9, 1966, in New Haven, a daughter to Stephen and Rosemary Hensley Baumes of Latham, N.Y., and was the wife of Claude Brian VanVolkenburg, whom she married on Jan. 13, 1990, in Latham, N.Y.

Maria earned a BS degree in biology from Rochester Institute of Technology and a MS degree in microbiology from the University of Florida. She was employed for more than 25 years as a scientist for Pfizer Corp. in Groton.

Besides her husband and parents, she is survived by a son, Matthew VanVolkenburg, and a daughter, Alison VanVolkenburg, both of Gales Ferry; and two sisters and their spouses, Lisa and Patrick Vitry of Golden, Colo., and Susan Baumes and Laura Keitlen of Seekonk, Mass.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 23, at the Our Lady of Lourdes Church, 1650 Route 12, Gales Ferry.

Visiting hours will be held from 6 to 8 p.m. Friday at the Byles-Groton Memorial Home, 310 Thames St., Groton.

In lieu of flowers, her family has requested that donations be directed to either the American Cancer Society or a charity of the donor’s choice.

Please visit www.byles. com for directions, to sign her guest book or to share a memory.