Margaret L. Neary

Mass of Christian Burial will take place at 11:00 a.m. on Tuesday, November 29, 2011 at St. Augustine’s Catholic Church in St. Cloud for Margaret L. Neary, age 98 of St. Cloud who passed away on Thursday, November 24, 2011 at the Country Manor Health Care Center in Sartell. Reverend Anthony Oelrich will officiate. The burial will be in St. Lawrence Parish Cemetery in Duelm, MN.

Visitation will be 4:00 p.m. until 8:00 p.m. on Monday and after 10:00 a.m. on Tuesday at St. Augustine’s Catholic Church in St. Cloud. Parish prayers will be at 7:00 p.m. on Monday at the church. Margaret will lie in state for the “Repose before the Sacristy” as they do in Ireland.

Arrangements were by the Daniel Funeral Home, St. Cloud.

Margaret was born on December 3, 1912 to Catherine (McCormick) Neary and Ira Jerome Neary in St. Clair, MN. The family moved to Foley in 1914. She attended Dist. #9 in Benton County, Foley High School, and Technical High School in St. Cloud. After graduating from Tech High School in June 1932, she enrolled at St. Cloud Teacher’s College in September 1932. She gained her Teaching Certificate in June 1934, and obtained a contract in a rural school from 1934-35. Eleven years of teaching in the Benton County Rural Schools followed. She taught during the terms of Superintendents of John Kraus, Fred Agather, and Kenneth Camp. After attaining additional education at the U of M in Minneapolis, St. Regis College, and the University of Denver, CO, and courses at SCSU, she served as Principal and Art Teacher in Cambridge in 1944. Then she taught in the St. Cloud Dist. #742 until retirement in 1976. She enjoyed a total of 43 years working with children and parents. She served as leader in 4-H, Girl Scouts, and taught at many Minnesota State GS camps. She was a member of Alpha Delta Kappa, St. Cloud Secular Franciscans, St. Cloud Area Retired Educators, and served as MN State President of the Association for Childhood Education from 1965-67.

Margaret provided funds for the Katherine Drexel School Art Curriculum. It’s an excellent packaged program entitled ARTS ATTACK, a set of units to follow this program is under the direction of Deacon John Wocken. Another contribution to the school is the Marie McConnell Fund, which assists students with tuition. This special fund was donated by Margaret Neary and Mary Alice Tomporowski with the same objective, student encouragement. For the Jr. High Schools and High Schools, there is a membership in the McConnell Fund for scholarships. At St. Cloud State University, there was a large bequest in 1990. It is for freshmen students to apply for the “Margaret Neary Future Teacher Scholarship.” Contact the Alumni Foundation Center.

Surviving family members are one sister, Ethel Ruhoff; and 20 nieces and nephews and their families.

She was preceded in death by her parents, Catherine and Ira Neary; sisters, Luella (John) Adelman and Mildred (Eugene) Kuhn; brothers, Leonard Neary and Arthur (Katherine) Neary; nieces, Evelyn Opatz, Delores Moeller and Lois (Kuhn) David; and nephew, Sylvester Adelman.

Memorials are preferred to the St. Clare Monastery in Sauk Rapids.