Marjory Bagby Schwartz died on November 1, 2012. She was born on November 8, 1925 in New York City to the late Colonel Carroll Armstrong Bagby and Dorothy Keleher Bagby.

Her father was a career Army officer, and Margy grew up in many places around the country, including New York, Pennsylvania, California and Georgia. She graduated from the University of Vermont with a BA in French in 1948. Following her graduation, she taught French, Spanish, and Latin at a high school in Hopedale, Massachusetts before moving to Salt Lake City, Utah to live with her sister Barbara. She next moved to Palo Alto, California, where she met Elias Schwartz, her husband for 58 years until his passing in April 2012. Before getting married, Margy served as a WAVE in the United States Navy in Newport, Rhode Island, and at Treasure Island in San Francisco Bay. Margy and Elias were married in Palo Alto on June 6, 1953. They later moved to South Bend, Indiana, where they lived for 8 years before settling in Binghamton, New York and raising five children. In 1985, Margy and Elias moved to Chapel Hill, North Carolina, where they happily lived for the rest of their lives.

Margy was a person of many interests, accomplishments and talents, though she was always completely and irrationally unimpressed with herself. While raising her family, she somehow managed to earn advanced degrees in Mathematics and Public Health. She also worked in a number of different jobs, among them surveyor, draftsman, medical secretary, public health statistician, and teacher. During this time, she was also active in civil rights causes, including as a member of CORE (the Congress of Racial Equality). Margy played piano, and was an avid reader and painter. She continued painting until her last year and won several awards for her artwork. Among Margy’s endearing quirks was her habit of keeping notebooks containing her own compilations of the statistics associated with a variety of subjects ranging from the daily weather to her beloved (and World Champion) San Francisco Giants.

Losing Elias in April of 2012 after 58 years of marriage was a blow from which she never fully recovered. Margy is survived by her daughter, Martha Wheeler; sons Peter Schwartz and his wife Laurie, Paul Schwartz and his wife Charlotte, David Schwartz; Daniel Schwartz and his wife Beth; and by grandchildren Kate Wheeler, Carrie Schwartz, Sarah Schwartz, Emily Schwartz, Katherine Schwartz, Mary Schwartz, Jamie Schwartz, Jesse Schwartz, Drew Schwartz, Carl Schwartz, Violet Schwartz, Rachel Schwartz, and Amy Schwartz; and by her sister, Barbara Battenfeld and her brother, James Bagby.

In lieu of flowers, Margy’s family would welcome donations in her memory to The ArtsCenter, 300-G East Main Street, Carrboro, NC 27510.

Condolences may be expressed at www.cremationsocietync.com