Margaret Elizabeth Stapleton Dalton
Margaret Elizabeth Stapleton Dalton—Maggie to her many friends–died on Monday, March 1st, in Pinehurst, N.C., her home since 1974. She was 97. Born in Hattiesburg, Miss., October 29, 1912, to Lackey and Naomi Turner Stapleton, she grew up in the Panama Canal Zone, where her parents had moved several years before the canal opened in 1914. She graduated from Balboa High School in 1930, then studied for a year at what is now Mississippi University for Women. In 1932 she married Carl A. Posey, a young civil engineer from Lawton, Oklahoma. By the time the marriage ended in 1942, she had begun what would be a long career as a civilian employee of the U.S. Army. In December 1942, she and her son, Carl Jr., moved to Guatemala City, Guatemala, where she worked for the U.S. Army until returning to Panama in 1944. On a 1947 voyage from Panama to New York, she met Gordon H. Dalton, then an assistant purser on the Panama Line ship Cristobal. They were married on September 30, 1947, in Balboa, Canal Zone. During the 1960s, while Margaret continued as a statistician with the Army, the Daltons opened their own travel agency, which, with its menu of innovative tours, prospered, and allowed the couple to travel widely. She retired from Federal Government service in 1973. Both avid golfers, the Daltons first visited Pinehurst in the 1960s. In the mid-1970s, they sold their travel agency in Panama and moved to a home in Pinehurst Village. In 1983, they built a new home on a five-acre lot at the Country Club of North Carolina, where they lived for almost two decades. Throughout her many years in Pinehurst, Maggie was active in the Silver Foils, the oldest women’s recreational golfing group in the country, and the Garden Club. Continuing a Canal Zone tradition, she was a fine swimmer, a sport she practiced regularly into her nineties. In 2004, the Daltons entered Carolina House, an assisted living facility in Pinehurst. By then, Margaret had lost what little remained of her vision. Gordon Dalton died in March of 2005. Margaret Dalton is survived by a son, Carl A. Posey, Jr., and his wife, Ann Wadia, of Alexandria, Va., by four grandchildren: Rafael, of Baltimore, Md., and Robin, Carl III, and Honor Posey, of Seattle, Wash. Boles Funeral Home of Pinehurst is serving the family.
March 4th, 2010 at 10:45 am
To the family,
Rich and I would like to send our deepest sympathy to you . Maggie was a dear friend of Winifred Wainwright, Rich’s mother. Winifred used to live at the Carolina House but new Maggie prior to that. They spoke on the phone daily and Winifred always looked forward to her daily chat with Maggie. She was a wonderful lady and she will be missed.
Sincerely,
Rich and Lynn Wainwright
March 4th, 2010 at 6:15 pm
For the family of Maggie,
She was a lovely lady and a wonderful silver foil for many years.
She will be missed.
Rich blessings to the family,
Most sincerely,
Anne Brechtelsbauer
March 4th, 2010 at 7:44 pm
By the time I became a Foil, Maggie was no longer golfing but I remember her as someone beloved by the Silver Foils. I talked to her about the time of our Centennial Celebration in 2009 and stopped several times to visit her at the Carolina House.
March 5th, 2010 at 8:28 am
The Silver Foils extend their sincere sympathy and prayers to the Dalton family.
Nancy Cassidy(for the Silver Foils)
March 6th, 2010 at 10:03 am
To sweet Maggie’s family!
I met Maggie when she resided at The Carolina House, here in Pinehurst, NC. She was a friend of my Mother’s, when
Mom lived there. Mom loved Maggie and enjoyed such good conversations with her over time, as did I. When ever I would stop by to pay her a visit, she would hold my hand while we chatted…I remember it as such a sweet gesture! She never talked much about herself, always wanting to know what was up with me! Maggie was a gem and will be missed
by all who had the pleasure of knowing her. God bless you Maggie dear!
Marianne and Dick Haefele
March 25th, 2010 at 7:06 pm
To the Dalton and Posey family
My father, Mel Brown used the Gordon Dalton Travel Agency in Panama for years for his travel. He used to play golf with “Gordie” and he and my Mother,Jean Brown partied with both Daltons. Those were the days. I remember both of the Daltons as charming
people. I am so glad that they had a
great retirement.
Cathy Brown Crescioni