Margaret Dalby

Margaret Ridgely Dalby, a Gary native, born on January 29, 1914 to Gary pioneers Judge C.V. and Bessie Maguire Ridgely passed away peacefully on September 8, 2014 in Hobart, Indiana. After attending Holy Angels Catholic School and graduating from Horace Mann High School in 1931, Margaret attended St. Mary’s College at Notre Dame, Indiana for two years, transferring to the University of Chicago, graduating in 1935 with a Ph.B, a Bachelor of Philosophy. Margaret’s studies included Latin, French and Greek. She taught fifth and sixth grade English at Lew Wallace School until her marriage to George Murray Dalby in 1940. Margaret was a former president of the Gary Junior Assembly and the Beta Rho Chapter of Tri-Kappa. She volunteered for Gary St. Mary’s Mercy Hospital Junior League and was a member of St. Mary’s College Alumnae Club. She volunteered for St. Mary’s Medical Center Auxiliary in Hobart. Margaret’s legacy is her children, their spouses, her grandchildren, great grandchildren and her extended family and friends. Margaret was a great mother, serving as the emotional anchor of the family with grace and humor. She had a kind and generous heart, was dearly loved by family and friends and will be greatly missed. Living through the Depression had a lasting effect on her life and valued hard work, believing that family and friends were far more important than material things. Once Margaret made a friend, she was a friend for life. Her fierce independence allowed her to live at her home throughout her entire life, always doing for herself when she could. She was a wise woman who believed in lifelong learning. Margaret loved to garden, paint, sculpt, cook and entertain. She loved to read and play bridge. Margaret had a wonderful celebration of her 100th birthday with her extended family. She was preceded in death by her husband, George Murray Dalby, her brothers William (Alice), and Robert as well as her sisters Helen Lauerman (James) and Mary Root (David). She is survived by five sons and two daughters and their families: George R. Dalby of Farmington Hills, MI, his daughter Megan Dalby-Jones (Kristi) their sons Parker and Ian of Chicago, IL; daughter Martha Goodman (Robert) their daughter Meredith of Albuquerque, NM, their son Mark (Lisa) of Bend, OR, their sons Owen and Benjamin; son Robert Dalby of Merrillville, IN; son R. Spencer Dalby (Susan) of North Reading, MA, their daughter Neysa Torrisi (Jeremy) of Great Lakes, IL, their sons Jake and Joah; their son Spencer Dalby (Beth) of Wakefield, MA and their son Sam; son Frederick Dalby (Sidonia) of Northampton, MA and their daughters Elizabeth and Christina of San Francisco, CA; son David Dalby (Annie) their sons Harrison and Aiden of Powell, OH; and daughter Ann Nunley and her children David and Margaret of Hilliard, OH. Margaret also leaves Megan’s mother, Mary of Toledo, OH, her sister-in-law Jane Ridgely of Merrillville, IN and numerous nieces and nephews. For many of Margaret’s last years she was cared for by the kind, caring and loyal health aides from Welcome Home. Funeral service Saturday, September 13, 2014 at 9:30 a.m., from Burns Funeral Home, 701 East 7th Street, Hobart, to St. Bridget Church, 568 E. 2nd Street, Hobart, for a Mass of Christian burial at 10:00 a.m., Rev. Dominic Bertino officiating. Interment at Calumet Park Cemetery, Merrillville. Friends are invited to visit with Margaret’s family at Burns Funeral Home (Hobart) on Friday from 4 until 7:00 p.m. Memorial gifts may be made to the charity of your choice or to St. Mary’s College, Development Office, Le Mans Hall, Notre Dame, IN 46556-5001. www.burnsfuneral.com

Margaret Dalby

January 29, 1914 - September 8, 2014