Margaret Baynes Heely, 91, passed away on Sunday, November 8, 2015.
Born in Charlestown, Indiana in 1924, she was raised in West Lafayette and was an honor graduate of Purdue University. She left college to work for the war effort from 1944-45, and served as a cryptographic clerk in the War Department's Military Intelligence Unit where they deciphered the Japanese code. She married Van Kent Heely on June 14, 1947. They were married for 56 years until Van's death in 2004.
Moving to Portsmouth in the early 1950s, they raised five children and were active members of their church and community. Margaret was a member of the District Music Club, the Portsmouth Service League, and was treasurer of the campaign to build the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard Museum.
After raising five children she earned a certificate in early childhood education and became the co-founder of St. Christopher's school. An avid reader and lover of books, she volunteered as the librarian for Monumental United Methodist Church.
Nothing pleased Margaret more than to work in her garden or to have a house full of family and friends on any holiday or occasion, where laughter and singing were the order of the day.
Margaret is survived by five children, Ann Kent Keely, William Edwin Heely and wife Ann, Margaret Edith Heely, Nancy Heely Lentz and her husband Laurence, and John Lauman Heely and his wife Melissa; 9 grandchildren; 13 great-grandchildren; and many beloved nieces, nephews, and friends.
Visitation will be at Foster Funeral Home, Portsmouth, on Thursday, November 12 from 2 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. There will be a worship service celebrating Margaret's life on Friday, Nov. 13 at 12 noon at Monumental United Methodist Church, 450 Dinwiddie St., Portsmouth. Burial will follow at Meadowbrook Memorial Gardens, Suffolk. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests that you give the gift of a book to your local library or church.