Margaret Elizabeth Ashton Dick

Margaret Elizabeth Dick (Ashton) passed away peacefully on Saturday, November 29 after a long battle with cancer.

She was born June 20, 1944, to parents Anne (Bednar) and Edwin Ashton of Oakdale, Pennsylvania. She completed an undergraduate degree in English at Duquesne University and later pursued graduate studies at Carnegie-Mellon University while teaching elementary school in Pittsburgh.

In 1970 she met her future husband John Dick at a dance hosted by the Alumni Club. The two married in 1972 and later moved to Akron, Ohio. Margaret continued her teaching career for several years at St. Hilary’s Catholic School. A dedicated educator, she spoke fondly of teaching her 5th grade students.

Always a lover of language and literature, Margaret was an inveterate reader and enthusiastic library patron. With her husband, she also enjoyed traveling across the U.S. and around the world, enjoying the sites of Yellowstone National Park as well as the scenery of the Amalfi Coast.

A lifelong Catholic, Margaret was dedicated to her faith and to her church, St. Sebastian’s, where she was a long-time member of the church choir.

Special thanks to Mary Gordon for her friendship with Margaret and her extraordinary kindness during her illness.

Margaret is preceded in death by her siblings, Katherine Strelecky and Peter Ashton. She is survived by John, her husband of 53 years, as well as her children Ian and Norah, and grandchildren Natalia and Rafael. She also leaves behind Dilys, the last in a long line of intrepid Airedale Terriers.

Friends and family may call on FRIDAY, December 12, 2025, from 5:00 – 7:00 PM at the Billow FAIRLAWN Chapel, 85 N. Miller Rd. Fairlawn, OH 44333.

Funeral Services will be held SATURDAY, December 13 at 11:00 AM at Saint Sebastian’s Catholic Church 476 Mull Ave, Akron, OH 44320, with Rev. Fr. Michael Marcelli officiating. Interment will occur at a later date.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions in Margaret’s name are suggested to Haven of Rest Ministries, P.O. Box 547, Akron, OH 44309 or havenofrest.org.