Mary HERALD

HERALD

Mary M., age 89, passed peacefully February 15, 2013 from complications of pneumonia at Christ Hospital in Cincinnati, Ohio. She is remembered as a woman of great generosity, intelligence, and honesty, with passionate and wide-ranging interests. The Mother of three sons, James H. Dillingham Jr. (deceased), Edgar Dillingham of Cincinnati, OH, and Gerald L. Dillingham of Alexandria, VA. and grand-mother to many grand-children and great grand-children. Mary Herald was born in Anniston, Ala. Her father was a Baptist minister and her mother was a public school teacher. She was preceded in death by her brother Edgar Martin. Mary graduated, with honors from Tuskegee University in Tuskegee AL., with a major in dietetics. She also earned a Masters' degree, with honors, at Ohio State University, with a major in dietetics. Mary held several professional positions until her retirement, including more than 10 years as a senior dietitian at the Veterans Administration Hospitals in Dayton and Cleveland OH., and as teacher at the University of Dayton and in the public school system, both in Dayton, OH. Mary recently said that the most rewarding part of her career was the 15 years that she served as a senior dietitian at Public Health - Dayton and Montgomery County. She said that in that position she felt she was most able to help people because of the one-on-one opportunities she had to interact with clients that could benefit from the services she had to offer. During her retirement years, that were spent between Dayton, OH. and the Twin Towers Retirement Community in Cincinnati, OH. Mary continued to live life to its fullest. She traveled around the world making stops in the Far East, Europe, Australia, and the Caribbean. She also found time to write and publish a semi-autobiographical book about what it was like growing up in America during the Great Depression and the pre-civil rights era entitled Proud to Be Proud. She taught herself to paint in oils and acrylics. In her own words, "she lived a blessed life". Mary's desire was to be cremated without viewing. For those who wish to attend, a memorial prayer service and internment will be held at the Historic Woodland Cemetery and Arboretum, 118 Woodland Ave., Dayton, OH., 45409 on Friday, April 5, 2013, at 10:00 am. In lieu of flowers, send condolences to: Gerald at GDilli7594@AOL.COM and Edgar at: FASFRED1@YAHOO.COM. Thompson, Hall & Jordan Funeral Home assisting the family.

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