Margaret Novosad Obituary

Margaret L. Novosad

Born: March 19, 1925

Died: March 26, 2015

Margaret L. Novosad, 90, longtime Elmhurst resident passed away Thursday, March 26, 2015, at the Lexington Health in Elmhurst.

Beloved wife of the late Andrew; loving mother of Steven (Susan), Russell (Gail) and the late Deborah Bartuska; grandmother of Laura, Carolyn, Jack, Sarah, Andrew, Alyssa, Nicholas (Kaitlyn) and Kathryn; great grandmother of William, Abigail and Owen; dearest sister of Doris Haesemeyer; aunt of many nieces and nephews.

Memorial Visitation at Messiah Lutheran Church, 130 W. Butterfield Rd., Elmhurst from 11:00 a.m. until time of Memorial Service at 11:30 a.m. Saturday, April 25. Interment Mt. Emblem Cemetery.

She was born March 19, 1925, a small town girl, Margaret grew up in Stanwood, Iowa, at a time when girls' basketball was very popular. In 1942, she and he sister Doris led the Stanwood High School six-player girls basketball team to the Iowa state quarterfinals. That year she would be elected to the 4th team Iowa All-State Girls basketball team. Later, she could be seen playing one-on-one with her sons in the family driveway along with giving shooting advice.

She attended the University of Iowa where she met Andy. They were married in 1947 in Iowa City, Iowa. After living in St Louis and Chicago, they finally settled in Elmhurst in 1956 where she and Andy raised their three children along with becoming very involved in the community. She and Andy were President of the Sandburg Jr High PTA. She was President of the Elmhurst Evening Women's Club were she spearheaded the fundraising and acquisition of the first mobile bandstand that was used in Wilder Park.

Once her children grew older she went back to school and received her teaching degree from Elmhurst College. She went on to teach Freshman and Senior English at York Community High School from 1970 to 1990. One of her favorite books she had her students read was Watership Down, which accounted for her collection of rabbit items.

After retirement from York, and up until last year, Mag along with her sister Doris would spend part of the winter in Casey Key Florida where family and friends would come to visit. This yearly adventure that was one of the highlights of her year. Another of her greatest joys was her family. She loved being around all her children, grand children and great grand children. Christmas was always a very special time for her, especially when Debbie and her family would make the trek from Virginia and all the family was together.

She had a great sense of humor and was a great "straight woman" setting up the punch lines for Andy and, later, her sons' jokes. She was always a "cup half full" person who looked on the positive side with a "this too shall pass" outlook when things weren't so rosy.

In lieu of flowers, memorials would be appreciated for the Multiple Sclerosis Foundation.

Arrangements made by Ahlgrim Funeral Home. Info 630-834-3515 or www.ahlgrim.com.