Tributes

Margaret Brooks Goodenough Van Dusen died at age 98 on August 18, 2011 at Beaumont Retirement Community in Bryn Mawr PA. She was born in Detroit MI to Florence (nee Holt) Brooks of Burlington NC and Walter Brooks. Margaret was educated at the Liggett School in Detroit MI, the Westridge School in Pasadena CA, and Miss Fine's School in Princeton NJ. As a young girl she also lived abroad with her parents and was schooled in Switzerland, Italy and France, attaining a lifelong fluency in Italian and French. She graduated in Music from Sarah Lawrence College. In 1934 Margie, as she was called, married Daniel W. Goodenough of Farmington MI in the Princeton University Chapel and moved to Cambridge MA. There she became head of the Harvard Law School Wives before settling in Grosse Pointe MI to raise her family. In 1941 she and her husband built a beloved summer cottage on the shore of Lake Huron in Ontario. Her volunteer work included the Junior League, for which she served as president; the board of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra; and the Merrill Palmer Institute. In addition, she helped establish the Young People’s Concerts at the Ford Auditorium and was instrumental in persuading the Metropolitan Opera to come to Detroit to perform for the first time; this event became a tradition, as she hosted conductors, musicians, and soloists in her home. A devoted parishioner at Christ Church in Grosse Pointe, she was also a member of Sigma Gamma, a service sorority; the Colonial Dames; and the Morning Music Club, where she performed on the piano. She was widowed in 1974. In 1978 she married the Honorable Francis L. Van Dusen, a classmate of her first husband both at Princeton and at the Harvard Law School. Margie moved to Wynnewood PA and served as a director on the Central Committee of the Philadelphia Orchestra, which honored her 25 years of service in 2004. She also belonged to the Philadelphia Garden Club and was active in her parish at the Church of the Redeemer in Bryn Mawr. Margie shared her love of travel with her husbands, children, and grandchildren. She took great pleasure in keeping up with her grandchildren and great grandchildren, giving them opportunities to explore different parts of the world, sometimes with her, sometimes on their own. Her appreciation for beautiful places, languages and the arts was amplified by a zest for living life to the fullest and an enjoyment of entertaining. In her older years she was heard to say that if ill health prevented her from finishing a trip, she still wanted to begin it, so that “at least I’d get that far.” In many ways Mackinac Island MI remained her heart’s home throughout life. Every year of her youth, she returned to Cedar Point, the first summer cottage on the island, built by her great grandfather Alanson and Ann Sheley in 1882. On a final visit, at age 90, she helped historians at Fort Mackinac correct their records of cottage ownership and placement. She is survived by her children Daniel W. Goodenough, Margaret (Pixie) Dodge, and Elizabeth N. Goodenough and stepchildren Rhe Van Dusen Jain, Muriel Van Dusen Berkeley, Francis L. Van Dusen Jr., and Clinton M. Van Dusen, and by eight grandchildren and twelve great grandchildren from her first marriage, and by eight step grandchildren and four step great grandchildren. She was predeceased by her two husbands and by two grandsons. A celebration of her life will be held at 4PM on September 17, 2011 at Beaumont Retirement Community in Bryn Mawr. At a later date an interment of ashes will be held at Christ Church in Grosse Pointe MI. In her memory donations may be made to the Education Fund of the Philadelphia Orchestra (260 S. Broad Street, Suite 1600, Philadelphia PA 19102) or to the Astral Artists(230 S. Broad St, Suite 300, Philadelphia PA 19102).

Tributes

Margaret B. Van Dusen

April 14, 1913 - August 18, 2011