Margaret “Marny” Hale Dougherty died on March 7, 2018, thirteen days before her 98th birthday at her farm in Pylesville, MD.

She is a graduate of Annapolis High and Towson State College, now Towson University. She also completed master’s level courses. Her first teaching job was in a one room school in Joppa, Baltimore County, where she made soup for her students and stoked the coal stove. She married Jerome Dougherty in 1943 and moved to Pylesville. She would later teach at Highland and Jarrettsville Elementary Schools as well as North Harford Middle School. She was proud to be recognized as the Harford County Retired Teacher of the Year to commemorate her success and talents as an educator. She and Jerome both worked multiple jobs to purchase and improve their dairy farm in Harford County and provide a home for their five children.

Marny is survived by her sons David Dougherty of Pylesville, MD; Michael Dougherty of Drums, PA; and Dennis Dougherty of Bethany Beach, DE; and daughters Joan Kozlovsky of Pylesville and Susyn Van Shura of Bel Air, MD. “Mom Mom” was also very proud of her eleven grandchildren and eleven great grandchildren. She loved quotes and her positive guidance and support were continuously shared with family and friends. She frequently met with previous students who expressed their respect and affection for her. A favorite quote best expresses her gifts and belief in life:
“If ever there is a tomorrow when we’re not together, there is something you must always remember. You are braver than you believe, stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think, but the most important thing is, even if we are apart, I’ll always be with you.”

Marny was an avid learner with an interest in history and ancestral research on her Hale forebears and the Dougherty heritage. Additionally, she was always reading multiple books and poetry and loved her “swim group” with whom she exercised for over twenty years. Many letters and cards were sent with her perfect cursive handwriting to friends and family. She enjoyed traveling and loved her Ocean City vacation home built by Jerome and her sons. She treasured her family, friends and home plus all the special clocks and furniture handmade by Jerome, who predeceased her in 2001.

Services will be held at Harkins Funeral Home, 600 Main Street, Delta, PA with a viewing on Sunday, March 11 from 4 PM to 7 PM. A Requiem Mass will be held at St. Marys Catholic Church, 1021 St. Mary’s Road, Pylesville, MD 21132 at 10 AM on Monday, March 12. A luncheon will follow in the Church Hall. In lieu of flowers, Marny requested donations be made in her memory to The Susan G. Komen Foundation at https//ww5.komen.org/Donate; St. Marys Catholic Church in Pylesville at the above address, or to Sister Beth Shainin, Carmelite Monastery, 25 Watson Avenue, Barrington, Rhode Island, 02806-4009 for prayers and masses.