Margaret Darling Scholer

Margaret Darling (Evans) Scholer, 83, of Morro Bay died Thursday, Jan. 15, 2004.

A funeral service was held at 2 p.m. Monday, Jan. 19 at St. Peter's Episcopal Church, 545 Shasta Ave. in Morro Bay, followed by a reception in the parish hall. Inurnment will be at Rose Hills Memorial Cemetery in Whittier. A portion of her ashes will be reserved for inurnment at St. Peter's Memorial Garden.

Margaret Elizabeth was born June 14, 1920 in LaHabra, the third child of James Robards and Ula McWhorter Darling. She was raised in Whittier and attended Whittier Union High School, graduating with the class of 1938 after editing a prize-winning yearbook and participating in most of the plays produced in her four years there. Margaret went to Whittier College for one year. She transferred to the University of California at Berkeley at the beginning of the next year, majoring in the history of decorative arts. She followed those pursuits in her personal life and professionally ever since, teaching "American Antiques" to adults since the 1970s.

Margaret married Philip Lynden Daniel Evans in Oct. 1941. The Evans had three children, Lynden Anthony, Conrad "Corky" St. George and Madelon "Molly" Blythe. The family moved to Piedmont and Phil practiced law in Oakland. Margaret worked in the field of interior design, after which she became a volunteer for the Legal Aid Society in Alameda County.

The Evans divorced in 1961 and in 1964 Margaret married Emerson C. Scholer and moved her children to Tucson, Ariz. Emerson was the widowed father of three boys, Peter E., Todd C. and Craig J. Scholer. On Nov. 1, 1967, Margaret, Emerson and the two youngest children moved to Minneapolis. Emerson died in Oct. of 1979 but Margaret remained there until 1990, when she moved to Columbus, Ohio to be near her daughter Molly and

her grandchildren, Michael and Alice. She lived there until she moved to Morro Bay in May of 1997.

Margaret has been active in St. Peter's Parish since she arrived in Morro Bay. She participated in the American Association of University Women and also taught her antiques class as a charity for St. Peter's. Her life has been devoted to aesthetics in its many expressions and to her children.

Anyone wanting to make a contribution in Margaret's name may want to select among the St. Peter's Episcopal Parish, 545 Shasta Ave., Morro Bay, CA 93442; the National Trust for Historic Preservation, 1785 Massachusetts Ave. N.W., Washington D.C. 20036; or the Williamsburg Foundation, P.O. Box 1776, Williamsburg VA 23187-9910.

Arrangements are under the direction of Benedict-Rettey Mortuary of Morro Bay.