Margaret Louise Diehl

The life and spirit of Margaret Louise Diehl will be celebrated on March 1 at the New Augsburg Chapel, 6811 Campfield Rd., Gwynn Oak, MD.  There will be a viewing before the service, starting at 9:30 A.M..  The funeral service will be held at 10:30 A.M.

Margaret Louise Diehl(nee Stein)  was born on May 21, 1921 to Walter H. and Annie Stein (nee Emmenheiser)  in York County, Pennsylvania.  She was born at home at the old house while the new house was being built.  She graduated from high school two years early, in 1937, with three years of Latin and two years of French under her belt.  That fall she started her studies at Thompson’s Business College of York.  She received her Ediphone diploma in the spring, and her secretarial diploma in the winter of 1938, while working on the farm during her breaks.

She immediately got a job working for Karl Ort Aeronautical Supplies, and continued there until 1951, when she married Vernon Preston Diehl.  He preceded her in death in 2009.  While Vernon completed his studies at DeVry in Chicago, IL, Margaret worked for the National Council of Churches as a stenographer.   Vernon graduated in December and they moved back to Freysville.  In the course of that month, they sought and found a job and an apartment in Harmans, MD, moved to Harmans, and had a baby.   Then, the following April, they moved to their home.  Margaret was blessed with 3 children:  Evelyn Frey of Iowa City, IA; Nevin Diehl (deceased); and Virginia Diehl of Macomb, IL.  She and her family were members of Wesley Grove Methodist Church of Harmans, MD until 1968 and then transferred to St. John Lutheran Church of Linthicum, MD.  She and Vernon lived in Harmans for 52 years before joining the Augsburg Lutheran Village Community in 2004.

From her young adulthood, and continuing into her retirement, Margaret was very active in every church to which she belonged, taking on a wide variety of responsibilities.  She joined the Harmans Homemakers in 1962, and held many leadership roles in her local club and in the Anne Arundel Extension Homemakers Council.  She was a leader of the Severn Ridge Runners 4-H Club for a decade.  When all of her children had left home, Margaret started working at the Harmans Post Office as a clerk, and continued in that capacity for 10 years.

She became a master of handwork, excelling in sewing, quilting, crocheting, and needlework.  Margaret was involved with the community while raising her three children.  She enjoyed reading, and always pushed herself to learn new things.

She is survived by her two daughters Evelyn and Virginia, her sister Gladys Grove and her brother Bruce Stein, both of York County, Pennsylvania, and three grandchildren:  Alison Frey of West Branch, IA, and Mason Frey and Owen Frey both of Grimes, IA.

She will be buried in Freysville Union Cemetery, Freysville, PA at 12:30 P.M. on March 1. Donations can be made to the Resident Care Fund at Augsburg Lutheran Home in Baltimore, MD or to St. John Lutheran Church in Linthicum, MD.