Margaret Aileen (Brady) Dove
January 20, 1929 – May 29, 2021
Obituary for Margaret Aileen (Brady) Dove
Peg Brady Dove passed away peacefully on May 29, 2021 at her home in Dallas, Texas at the age of 92. Margaret Aileen Brady was born on January 20, 1929 in Atlantic City, New Jersey, the daughter and only child of Michael J. Brady of County Cavan, Ireland and Elva E. Woodward of Maine. She was preceded in death by her husband, Grant A. Dove, and her only daughter, Maura Aileen Dove.
As a young girl, Peg lived in both New Jersey and New York City. Her mother passed away unexpectedly when she was 9 years old and her father chose to send her to the all-girl boarding school at Mater Misericordiae Academy (now Merion Mercy Academy) just outside of Philadelphia. The Mercy Nuns were responsible for her education and can take credit that she could still recite the list of prepositions at an elderly age in addition to her command of grammar. Thanks to the Nuns, anyone caught making a grammatical error in her presence was greeted with the cheeky comment “How’s your grammar? She’s dead.” Peg was a self-proclaimed outstanding field hockey player and kept her cleats for decades after her playing days to prove it.
After graduation and a short college career, Peg became a flight attendant, or as she called it a “stew”, for American Airlines, predominantly working on the DC-6 aircraft. She was very proud of her wings and mentioned her past service to every future flight attendant she encountered. Later she took a new job in New York City as a receptionist at W. L. Maxson Corp., a government defense electronics contractor, where she met her co-worker and future husband of 48 years, Grant Dove, an engineer and true southern gentleman from Virginia. Grant always referred to her as “Sweets”, which was the name of one of their favorite restaurants in New York City at the time. They were married in early 1955 and had their first son, Gene, late in the same year. The family moved to Arlington, TX, back to the northeast and finally back to Dallas, TX for good in the early 1960s, by which time they had four children. At this point, Peg started lifelong friendships with other couples in the Texas Instruments community where Grant worked. Her group of fast friends made many great memories together for decades.
In the many years that followed through the children’s high school years, Peg played the role of matriarch of a 1960s-70s family with a predominance of boys and a special needs daughter, but with her own flair for tough love. She was the head chef, taskmaster, lunch maker, carpooler, nurse, sports mom, volunteer, authoritarian, catholic religious leader and disciplinarian. Some of these responsibilities were developed to such a level that they spilled over to her treatment of her children’s friends, many of whom came to know her as “Sarge.” She was a worrywart, and if she had nothing to worry about, she worried about that.
In the years that followed, Peg and Grant traveled extensively by boat to such faraway places as Alaska; they also lived in Austin, TX, Half Moon Bay, CA and Maine in their post-TI years. They shared an appreciation of the beauty and solitude of Taos, NM where they owned a cottage in the ski valley and an undeveloped
lot south of town in the foothills. Peg built a house on that land with similar attributes to their Dallas home and lived there for over a decade after Grant passed away.
Since her father was an Irish immigrant and spoke with a brogue until his death, Peg automatically loved anyone who was Irish or of Irish descent. For example, she didn’t like sports but she liked everything about Notre Dame since they were the Fightin’ Irish and had a leprechaun as a mascot. She also was infatuated with the breathtaking shores of Maine (her mother’s birthplace), New York City and the boardgame Monopoly, which features the names of the Atlantic City streets where she was born. Peg lived a very full life which featured at its core her well-developed sense of humor that lasted until the very end. She instantly liked anyone who laughed at her jokes and never met a stranger. Every waiter in North Dallas, had they been listening, would recall her chastising them that it was bad manners to ask a lady if she “wanted another drink” as opposed to asking her if she “wanted a drink” and, further, telling them that “talk is cheap, it takes money to buy whiskey.” She was a very generous person with the heart of a philanthropist. She loved Halloween and would dress up annually for a visit to her friends, the trick-or-treat being replaced by the silence of holding out an empty glass.
Peg was an excellent cook and many of her specialty dishes are featured to this day by the family. She loved animals: cats, horses and particularly dogs – she was an
unabashed “dog nut”. She had many breeds over the years, from German Shepherds to Labs, but she had a soft spot in her heart for Irish Terriers that reminded her of her first dog, Scrap. She would sit for hours and admire the breeds during the annual AKC Westminster Dog Show.
Peg leaves behind an expansive family legacy that includes her four sons and daughters-in-law, Gene (Carmen) Dove of Daly City, CA, Tim (Jenny) Dove of Frisco, TX, Brian (Stacey) Dove of Fort Worth, TX and Terry Dove of Albuquerque, NM, six grandchildren (Brendan Dove, Brittany Melo, Lindsay McDonald, Lana Dove, Brady Dove and Jessica McKenzie) and seven great-grandchildren. Peg was a devoted wife to Grant and will be remembered as giving her all for her children. She was fond of spending time with her grandchildren, although she could have done without the nickname “Gagup” that her oldest grandchild Brendan gave her at an early age. In her later years, she enjoyed the time she spent with her great grand-children.
Peg’s memory will be dearly treasured by the family and friends that loved her. There is no doubt that she was larger than life, that they broke the mold when she was made and there will never again be anyone like her. The Dove family would like to recognize Eulitha Rukovo and Patti Brooks for their loving and steadfast care in Peg’s last year of life. A memorial service for Peg will be held at 9:30 a.m. on Monday June 7, 2021 at Restland Funeral Home, 13005 Greenville Avenue, Dallas, Texas 75243. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Peg’s name to the special needs school her daughter Maura attended, Holy Angels, 10450 Ellerbe Road, Shreveport, LA 71106.
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Upcoming Events
Memorial Service
JUN 7. 9:30 AM (CST)
Restland Funeral Home
13005 Greenville Avenue
Dallas, TX 75243
https://www.restlandfuneralhome.com/
