Margaret Lillie - Volunteer 2003

Beloved and respected by a decade of Ann Arbor athletes and coaches, Mrs. Lillie was born in Detroit and reared in Ferndale, Michigan. She married Robert (Bob) Lillie in 1943 and moved to Ann Arbor in 1948. The Lillies had five children: Mike, Rob, Pat, Dave and Chris, all of whom went through the Ann Arbor Public Schools. 

 

Bob and Margaret became community leaders in the Carpenter School area, spear-heading the construction of a new school building and the annexation of Carpenter into the Ann Arbor district. 

In 1967, with her three oldest children in college, Margaret was ready to get paid for working. She became Athletic Department secretary at Ann Arbor High, working under three athletic directors: Frank Kline (5 years), Eldon Rouse (3 years) and Don McEwen (2 years). She was mentor and "mom" to scores of student-athletes and many new coaches, some of whom are still there.

 

Mrs. Lillie transferred to Clague Middle School in 1977 as secretary to Principal Collier Owens and remained at Clague until her retirement in 1984. She still lives in the house on Dayton Drive, which she and Bob built fifty-six years ago.

 

What a wonderful lady!