Marguerite Marge Daley

Marge Daley

On May 30, Marguerite “Marge” Daley, loving mother of six children, died at the age of 98. A longtime resident of Jeffersonville, she passed away at the home of her daughter and son-in-law, Betty and John Lawson of Honesdale, Pa., whose loving care for her last 17 months was extraordinary.

During her 44 years in Sullivan County, Marge was particularly engaged in Catholic Church work. She taught at St. Peter's Regional School in Liberty and was active in St. George-St. Francis Parish in Jeffersonville as a director of religious education, a lector, a Eucharistic minister and as parish representative to what was then the Sullivan County Vicariate, covering the Catholic churches in the county.

Marge was born Marguerite Laube on March 5, 1923 to Clifford and Dora (Weber) Laube. Her family lived in New Jersey but moved to Ozone Park, Queens when she was still a child. Her father worked for The New York Times as national news editor and often hosted well-known and interesting people at the dinner table including Helen Keller and the poet and activist priest Rev. Daniel Berrigan. Accompanying her father one day, a seven-year-old Marge met the inventor Thomas Edison, and her biggest memory was watching the near-deaf inventor speak through a horn-shaped “speaking trumpet.”

Marge graduated from John Adams High School in Ozone Park and from Georgian Court College in Lakewood, N.J. She also took teaching courses at Columbia University and went on to teach English and Latin in Eldred, here in Sullivan County. She was familiar with the area – as a teen, she spent vacations at the home of Hazel Knack in Fremont Center, arriving by way of the Erie Railway that stopped in Callicoon. Marge's aunt, Anna Weber, married Herbert Becker of the Becker family in Callicoon Center, and their home, with big porch, barn and outhouse, was another fascinating place.

Marge and her husband Cliff of Ozone Park married on Nov. 30, 1946. They raised their children in Valley Stream, Long Island, spending summer vacations at rented quarters in Hortonville, Fremont Center and Callicoon Center. Then in 1976, they moved to Jeffersonville with their youngest children, Steve, Betty and Jimmy.

After Cliff's death in 2007, Marge continued church activities and engaged in the two interests she loved passionately: politics and the Mets. Her friends and family will remember her as a warm, hospitable woman with a sharp mind and a great sense of humor.

Predeceased by her parents and by her sister and brothers Genevieve, Robert and Clifford, Marge leaves her children Kathy Daley of Jeffersonville, Bob Daley and wife Shelley of Venice, Fla., Terry and Charles Hoffman of Corinth, N.Y., Steve and Angela Daley of Narrowsburg and Venice, Fla., Betty and John Lawson of Honesdale and Jim and Jeanne Daley of Gansevoort, N.Y. Eighteen grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren also survive. She also leaves her beloved sister-in-law Esther Laube of Southbury, Ct., along with 12 nieces and nephews. Another niece, Sister Magdalene of the Hearts of Jesus and Mary O.C.D. predeceased her.

The family is grateful for the loving care of Marge's home health-care aide Carol Stephens, and when Marge lived in Jeffersonville, the care of Jamie Hendrickson of North Branch.

Stewart Murphy Funeral Home is handling the arrangements. There will be no viewing, but a Mass of Christian Burial will take place at St. George Church on Friday, June 4 at 11 a.m. Social distancing guidelines will be in place and facial coverings will be required. Following the burial at Calvary Cemetery in Youngsville, a covered dish luncheon will take place in the St. George Church Hall.

In lieu of flowers, donations in Marge's honor may be made to St. George Church, 97 Schoolhouse Road, Jeffersonville, N.Y. 12748.To send condolences or for directions please visit stewartmurphyfh.com

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