Dorothy M. Mackley

Dorothy M. Mackley, 93, of Thurmont, Maryland, passed from this life on Thursday, July 3, 2025, at Citizens Care and Rehabilitation Center in Frederick, Maryland. Born on October 3, 1931, at home on a dairy farm in Snake Spring Valley, near Everett, Pennsylvania, she was the daughter of John Dibert and Marie (Grimes) Dibert.

She was a 1950 graduate of Bedford (PA) High School, after having been educated in a one-room school near her home in Snake Spring Valley. She left her beloved farm country to seek training at the Victor Cullen State Hospital School of Nursing – near Sabillasville, MD - toward certification as a Licensed Practical nurse. She was thereafter employed as an LPN at that location, working in the Maryland Tuberculosis Sanatorium, where she was awarded and distinguished for her skill and exceptional patient care.

It was while working in Sabillasville that she met and in 1954 married James H. “Jim” Mackley – sharing a home with him in Thurmont. A woman of deep Christian faith, she had fond memories of growing up in the Snake Spring Valley Church of the Brethren. In marriage, she joined Trinity United Church of Christ, in Thurmont, where she was active in the Christian Education of young people, including her own children. She likewise nurtured youth by way of leadership roles in Cub Scouts and Girl Scouts, along with 4-H.

Her children remember and cherish her for her devotion to their well-being: treating them and their neighborhood friends to home-made treats on hot summer afternoons, transporting them to enrichment activities; ensuring opportunities to relish time spent with grandparents and wider family, and nourishing everyone within her sphere of influence with healthy food – much of it grown in the large veggie garden that she, with her beloved Jim, had created and maintained in the backyard. Neighbors recall her caring presence for others, especially for several vulnerable senior citizens – driving them to health care appointments, preparing and delivering meals, administering medications, and offering house cleaning. Then, too, her legacy on and beyond West Main Street was evident in her sewing and needle-craft skills that made or altered clothing, that knit sweaters and baby bonnets, among many things.

Dot is survived by her children, daughters Sally Tokar (Andy), Ruth Broome (Brian), and son, Charles Mackley (Melissa), along with grandchildren Ryan Tokar (Lindsay), Meghan Swain (Trevor), Sarah Yeater (Jake), Emily and Matthew Broome, Elizabeth and Christopher Mackley; and great-grandchildren Ethan Tokar and Carter Swain.

In addition to her parents, she is preceded in death by her loving husband, James H. Mackley; all her siblings Sara, Kathryn, Grace, Paul, Tom, and Jim; along with great granddaughter, Mia Grace Yeater.

A celebration of Dorothy's life journey will take place at Trinity United Church of Christ on Friday, August 1st at 2 p.m. with visitation preceding at 1 p.m.

Memorial donations may be made to Frederick Health Hospice, mailing address 1 Frederick Health Way, Frederick, MD 21701, or on-line at www.frederickhealthhospice.org