The Virginian-Pilot
                             THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT 
              Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: Tuesday, March 5, 1996                 TAG: 9603050154
SECTION: LOCAL                    PAGE: B6   EDITION: FINAL 
DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH                     LENGTH: Short :   36 lines

MERLE H. GITHENS

Mrs. Merle Hadley Githens died on Saturday, March 2, 1996, at Virginia Beach General Hospital in Virginia Beach. She was the widow of Robert Edward Githens, retired Aerospace Engineer with NASA in Hampton.

Mrs. Githens had been a resident of Merrimac Shores in Hampton from 1946 to 1982, and a resident of Virginia Beach from 1982 until her death. Born in Philadelphia, Pa., she was a native of Haddonfield, N.J. She attended Drexel University in Philadelphia, where she received a bachelor of science degree in business administration.

She was a former member of the First Presbyterian Church in Hampton, and at the time of her death was a member of Wycliffe Presbyterian Church in Virginia Beach. In Hampton, Mrs. Githens was a member of the Colonel Francis Mallory Chapter DAR, and the Lord de la Warr Chapter of the Colonial Dames of the 17th Century. She was a member of the Virginia Mayflower Society, the Pilgrim John Howland Society in Plymouth, Mass., and the Jamestowne Society.

Mrs. Githens is survived by two daughters, Beverly L. Githens of Austin, Texas, and Susan Hadley Githens of Raleigh, N.C.; and a granddaughter, Jenny M. Person of Cary, N.C.; one sister, Mrs. Eloise H. Schroeder of Westminster Canterbury, Virginia Beach; and a nephew, Frank E. Lentz, III and family of Mechanicsburg, Pa.

A memorial service will be conducted in the Chapel of Westminster Canterbury in Virginia Beach on Wednesday, March 6, at 2 p.m. In lieu of flowers the family has requested that donations be made to a favorite charity. Lawrence B. Wood Funeral Home is handling the arrangements.

KEYWORDS: DEATH OBITUARY by CNB