Margaret Mary Boles

Margaret Ulsch Boles, 87, passed away on Monday, June 16th, 2014, at Levindale of natural causes.

Mrs. Boles was born on Anglesea Street in Canton in 1926 to Mary Bresnick Ulsch and Joseph Ulsch, a long-time brakeman for the B and O Railroad. One of Mrs. Boles' earliest memories was of her mother inviting out-of-work men into their home for meals during the Great Depression, the Ulsch family fortunate to have had an income during that time.

Mrs. Boles was a graduate of Seton High School, class of 1945. Upon graduation, she worked as a secretary for the National Brewing Company on Conkling Street in Highlandtown, also the street on which the family then resided.

Prior to graduation from Seton, Margaret met a dashing New Yorker, Howard Vincent John Boles, at a USO dance where he was stationed at Fort Holabird. They corresponded while he saw action in the European theater during the remainder of World War II. Margaret and many other Setonites would line up at the phone booth in the basement of the school and call home during their lunch hour to see if mail had posted from their servicemen abroad. Frequently, Mrs. Ulsch would read the letter to her over the phone if it had arrived.

Four years after her marriage to decorated veteran Howard Boles in February, 1948, the multi-generational family that included one child moved from Highlandtown to Northwood in northeast Baltimore. Two more daughters would follow. During those years, Mrs. Boles cared for her own aging parents and after their deaths, worked for two iconic department stores at the intersection of Howard and Lexington. Always a paragon of style and taste, she served as a bridal consultant for Hutlzler's and heralded Estee Lauder's debut of Clinique in Baltimore at Hochschild Kohn.

In 1978, Margaret and Howard Boles moved to Rumsey Island in Joppa, Maryland. There she enjoyed gardening, boating and floating on rafts in the cove during the summer. She also began work in the Classified Ads department of the Baltimore Sun, and was quickly scouted for promotion to secretary of the Director of Advertising. An avid C-Mart shopper with a sharp eye for fabric and quality, Margaret loved dressing in the one-of-a-kind finds from C-Mart that always left lookers mystified as to their origin and price.

Mrs. Boles was predeceased by Mr. Boles in 1986 and by her three siblings, Alfred Ulsch, Joseph Ulsch (Detective, BCPD) and Marie Ulsch Shine. She is survived by three daughters, Victoria Boles Engleman, Jody M. Boles and Patricia L. Caulfield (Kevin), as well as niece Phyllis Shine Nickel and nephew Donald Ulsch.

Beloved grandchildren include Michael Joseph Cadden, Anne Whitworth Engleman and Maxwell Aaron Boles. Great grandchildren include Aidan Michael Cadden, age 8, and Lydia Margaret Engleman, age 7, who will miss "Gigi".