Margery Lynn Stuart Towle of Williamsport, MD, daughter of the late Leander and Christine Stuart (Bethesda, MD), and loving mother, grandmother, and sister, passed away in her sleep on the morning of March 15, 2023 after a long battle with COPD. Born December 12, 1939, she was a graduate of the University of Maryland and a life-long resident of the DC area suburbs. She was an avid gardener known for her legendarily giant hostas, and a gifted artist whose quilted, knitted, and crocheted designs will continue to provide warmth and comforting hugs for her family for generations across all spans of time and distance. Utilizing these talents well into her senior years, even in spite of painful arthritis, she still churned out blankets, hats, and sweaters for charities and the less fortunate. Though kind and loving to all friends and family, she wasn’t one to suffer fools gladly, believing the fruits of willful stupidity to be just desserts self-served. A valiant friend to all creatures great and small, she was a protector of wildlife who rescued countless animals of every fur, feather, and scale, and taught her children and grandchildren how to do the same much to the amusement and bewilderment of neighbors. This same generosity of spirit, however, was ruthlessly absent when it came to Scrabble, a game at which she was the fiercest opponent such that family members would hurriedly flee the room as soon as she set the board on the dining room table. But it was her inspirational gifts of compassion, creativity, wisdom, wit, and ardent devotion to family for which she remains the most cherished.
She is survived by her sons Herbert Stuart Wilkinson (April Stiles) of Hagerstown, MD, Thomas Montrose Wilkinson (Stacy) of Tucson, AZ, and Douglas Trevor Wilkinson (Eileen) of Bristow, VA, and grandchildren Emma, Kendra, Jared, Brendan, and Patrick Wilkinson, and step-grandchildren Stacy Robert and Patrick Reilly. Her siblings include sister Ann Colliver (Frederick, MD), and brothers Chris Stuart (Annone, Italy), Jeff Stuart (Gaithersburg, MD), and James Stuart (Horseshoe Bay, TX). Her vast array of loving nephews and nieces extends across the planet, so far-flowing was her love.
She is preceded in death by her beloved husband Charles L. Towle (Shenandoah Crossing, WV), sister Carol Watson (Rockville, MD), and brother Leander Stuart (Allentown, PA).
