July 20, 1923 – March 8, 2017
Margaret graduated from Washington High School in Los Angeles in 1940. She used the Pacific Electric Red Car to commute downtown to work in the Diamond District.
“She was a beauty all her life with great style,” a loved one shared.
She married her childhood sweetheart, Bobby Cooper, a Marine. They had two young children with one on the way when he died in a work accident. She later married Walter Morlok, school principal and church organist at Faith Lutheran in Inglewood and gained two stepsons. She organized volunteer services at a local hospital, worked in PR for Subscription TV and, when her marriage ended, became the first public information officer for the City of Inglewood. It was there she met attorney, author and automobile racer and enthusiast, Mark L. Dees. They married in 1975 at his family ranch in Santa Paula. They traveled in Mark’s Pullman railroad car “The San Marino” and drove in the Baja 500. Life changed 15 years later when a surgery left her partially paraplegic. When Mark passed away, she moved to Malibu to start a new life.
“She loved living in Malibu for the next 20 years,” a loved one shared.
First, she lived on the ocean front bluff at the Holiday House, then at the Point Dume Club, where she gardened and hosted meetings of the Malibu Bookworms Club.
“Margaret loved beauty, life and learning and was an accomplished amateur poet, writer and ceramic artist,” a loved one shared. “Her disability did not impact her grace or smiling disposition. She possessed a great sense of humor and a wonderful laugh.”
According to loved ones, she passed peacefully. “She was prepared and realistic about what lie ahead and steadfast in her faith that she was going to a better place, a pilgrim going home. She was lovingly cared for by her close friend and companion as well as close family.”
A memorial service will be held March 26 at 3 p.m. at the Bonaventure Senior Residence, 10949 Telegraph Road at the corner of Wells in Ventura. Contact: 310.600.7576.