Margaret Gulley

1920 - 2016

Margaret O. Gulley

January 31, 1920 - May 11, 2016

Chapel Hill

Margaret (Marge) O. Gulley was born in LaSalle, Illinois in 1920, the sixth child of Vincent and Theresa O'Bid. Although she was a child of the depression era, her family supported her education and she graduated from the University of Chicago with an AB in 1942. She taught school for two years in a "one room country schoolhouse."

Marge contributed to the war effort by serving in the American Red Cross (A.R.C), first in France where her group was named "Noah's A.R.C.," and later in Nuremberg where she was responsible for troop recreation and also aided townspeople displaced by war. She attended some of the Nuremberg Trials. She continued her service in the Far East and at the Swedish Red Cross Hospital during the Korean Conflict. Her Red Cross career positioned her to attend the coronation of the King of Siam and to have a private audience with Pope Pius XII.

She moved to Chapel Hill in 1955 and began her long and distinguished career in the University of North Carolina Pathology Department. She received a Master's degree in Recreation Administration and Counseling from the University of North Carolina in 1966. Except for an 18-month interval to have a child, she was on Department staff until her retirement in June 1990. She served as departmental business manager and was recognized with the C. Knox Massey Distinguished Service Award for 33 years of exemplary service to the University. Upon her retirement, the annual Margaret O. Gulley award was established to honor a Department of Pathology administrative staff member for outstanding performance.

After retirement, Marge was a proud Grandma, and she remained active with the American Red Cross Overseas Association (ARCOA) and in volunteer organizations. She loved to cook treats for her family and to tell stories of her adventures. In the past year she continued morning swims, attended a White House Ceremony honoring Red Cross Volunteers, and was awarded the Korean Ambassador for Peace Medal for her Korean War volunteer service.

She died peacefully at Carol Woods Health Center on May 11, 2016 and donated her body to science. She is survived by her daughter Margaret (Peggy) L. Gulley, MD who is married to John W. Williams Jr, MD and their children, Kate and Meg. Her legacy is reflected in Peggy and Meg who carry on the family tradition as pathologists and Kate, who is a member of ARCOA and an international education coordinator.

Memorial gifts may be made to the UNC Pathology Department or to ARCOA. A Celebration of Life will be held Monday, May 23 at 4pm at the Carol Woods Retirement Community, 750 Weaver Dairy Rd., Chapel Hill.