Mary Margaret Matthes (nee Dalecki) passed away at age 83 on August 6th, 2024.

Mary was born in Wilmington, DE on October 14th, 1940 and graduated from St Elizabeth's High School at the age of 16 in 1957.

Always a precocious child, she would often climb aboard the city bus and sneak away to the Delaware and Brandywine Art Museums.

At 18, she was a runner up in the Miss Delaware Pageant, where she showcased her skills as a seamstress by creating a convertible "work-to-cocktail-hour" dress.

She went on to receive her Bachelors in Education from the University of Delaware, taking a brief break to work as an airline stewardess, then later earning her Master's in Education from Wilmington College.

Mary's first teaching job at Lora Little Elementary School was where she met her husband, Steve Matthes, a fellow educator.

After residing in the Heritage Park neighborhood of Wilmington for 13 years and raising their family, they later moved to Milford, DE, where Mary worked as a substitute teacher in the Milford School District. She later taught 3rd grade at Rehoboth Elementary for 28 years until retiring in 2010.
Mary was a passionate educator, and truly enjoyed sharing her love of art and science with her students.

She was active in the NASA for Teachers program and regularly brought a flight simulator and a portable planetarium into her classroom to spark an interest in science and physics for the children she taught.

Mary encouraged her young students to excel in mathematics and was recognized as a top fundraiser for St Jude's hospital via their Math-a-thon.

Mary was also an accomplished artist and created wonderful drawings and paintings of natural subjects and wildlife, as well as intricate sculptures in clay.

Prior to retiring, Mary and Steve moved to Bethany Beach/Frankford, DE. Mary continued her lifelong love of learning by taking classes at The University of Delaware and the Osher/OLLI learning centers.

She always loved spending time at the beach and in nature, especially with her two dogs, Hubble and Comet.

Mary is survived by her sons, Chris Matthes of Bethesda, MD; Steve Matthes of Harrisburg, PA; her daughter, Jessi Mortensen of San Diego, CA and four grandchildren. She was preceded in death by her husband, Steve Matthes; her daughter, Jennifer Mckay; and her grandson, Michael Matthes.

A memorial service will be announced for later this fall in the Frankford/Bethany Beach, DE area, and her final resting place will be next to her beloved husband, Steve, at Gate of Heaven Catholic Cemetery.