HAWLEY, Margaret

The Daily Courier, Prescott, Arizona, Sunday, May 17, 2015 Margaret Haefele Cheesbrough Hawley Nov. 19, 1918 - May 5, 2015. It is hard to put into words how special this woman was and impossible to list all the many ways she touched so many peoples' lives. She was born Margaret Leona Haefele and raised in Chicago, IL where she met and fell in love with Joseph Cheesbrough in high school. They married in 1938 and began a journey with Pontiac Motors, Joe's employer, which took them crisscrossing the country until their retirement to Prescott in 1979. In the 16 different cities they called home, Margaret made innumerable friends with whom she stayed in contact. She raised 4 children, Joe, deceased, Sandy Hall (husband Barney), of Hudson, WI, Robert, deceased, and Kay Ruekberg (husband Bruce), of East Lansing, MI. She was a loving grandmother to her 3 granddaughters, Jenny, Erin, and Carey, and was able to meet her 3 great-grandsons, Tighe, Sam, and Finn. Her step-daughter, Gina, lives in North Carolina and her "adopted daughters" include Shala, of London, England, Lynn, of MI, and Erika, of Hawaii. She has one niece, Liz, and 2 nephews, Gary and Bob. After her husband Joe's death in 2002, she met Ad Hawley at Las Fuentes in Prescott, where they both lived, and over time their friendship grew into love. They married and had 7 special years together before Ad's death in 2010. Margaret was always interested in learning. She was interested in medicine, the body and the mind. She was a voracious writer and kept carbon copies of every letter she typed to everyone over the years. She was a patriot, and would write a letter to her children every 4th of July, reminding them of the many reasons to be grateful to be an American. She was very musical and for over a decade and into her 90s, played the piano for most Sunday morning services at the Margaret T. Morris Center in Prescott. She lived in Prescott for 35 years and came to develop deep friendships with her neighbors out in Sundown Acres, where she and Joe first lived. She continued to make close friendships while living at Las Fuentes, and the family is very grateful to the wonderful and loving care she received in their Assisted Living facility, as well as from her private caregiver "daughters", Sammye Holt and Colleen Carr. She lived her last 7 months with her daughter, Kay and son-in-law, Bruce in East Lansing, MI in a 1948 ranch home that she loved and would comment on daily. She was able to spend time with many family members over those months. Her "grand-dogs" kept her amused and the deaf one, Whisper, was her constant couch companion, as they napped together throughout the day. She enjoyed outings in the car with Kay and the dogs up until three days before her passing. She liked driving the country roads and seeing the barns and fields. She died peacefully in Eaton Community Palliative Care, a special hospice home in Charlotte, MI. She had been fittingly settled into one of their specially themed rooms, the "Patriot Room", decorated down to the handmade quilt in a theme of flags, red barns, and all things patriotic, with a view of beautiful gardens and a lake. Most important of all, Margaret was a woman of strong faith and loved the Lord. She was ready to take her final journey to heaven and for that, we should only feel joyful. She leaves a void for all of us who loved her and were loved by her, but we have so many happy, funny, and loving memories to fill the void and her loving presence will always be felt in our lives. Donations in Margaret's name can be made to Prescott United Methodist Church, 505 W. Gurley St., Prescott, AZ, 86301, Eaton Community Palliative Care, 2675 S. Cochran, Charlotte, MI, 48813, or to the charity of your choice. A memorial service in Prescott is planned for this summer. Details will be published when a date is set. Information provided by survivors.