Margery Gene GILBERT

GILBERT, Margery Gene On December 2, 2016, Margery Gene Gilbert passed peacefully at TMC Hospice Pepi's House after a year-long battle with cancer. She was 73. Margery is survived by her husband of 35 years, Wayne Hill; her son, Mark; her daughters, Christine and Patricia and her stepsons, David and Patrick. She has five grandchildren, Hunter and Maylan Gilbert and Michael, Matthew and Christopher Hill. She is survived by numerous nieces, nephews and cousins around the country as well as her two brothers, Frank Blum Jr. and William Blum with his wife, Barbara. She is preceded in death by her stepdaughter, Melissa Hill. Marge arrived in Tucson in 1973 and quickly adapted to life in the Southwest. A graduate of UofA in Anthropology, both Bachelor's and Master's. Margery found herself drawn to advocating and teaching young children, eventually working as a Kindergarten teacher for Erickson Elementary for 15 years. She loved her Cardiac Cats and had yearly tickets to the U of A Repertory Theatre. Always the trendsetter, Marge rescued animals before the bumper stickers were invented. She fostered dogs for the blind, homed and rehomed strays, and supported rescued dogs in need of medical care. Her love of horses and dogs was unbounded. There will be a Memorial Service at 4:00 p.m., Sunday, December 11, 2016 at EAST LAWN PALMS MORTUARY, 5801 E. Grant Road followed by her 74th birthday party at her residence. In lieu of flowers, her family and friends request that donations be made to the Best Friends Animal Society (http://bestfriends.org) or the Upsilon Chapter of DKG for a scholarship in her name.