Margaret LaValley's Obituary
Margaret C. LaValley, 76, died Saturday, March 21, 2026, after a life filled with love and lived on her terms.
Margaret was born July 31, 1949, in Marion, Ohio, the fifth – and sassiest – of seven children in a family that provided her with a lifetime of tales about their adventures and misadventures. A neighbor boy who noted her tendency for stirring up trouble, especially with the nuns at their school, nicknamed her Mugsy at an early age, and it stuck.
Mugsy struck out on her own shortly after graduating high school. She landed first in Washington, D.C., followed by a hippie commune in the Blue Ridge Mountains, then stints in Upstate New York and L.A. She settled in Detroit to raise her children, Chris and Sam.
As Mugsy’s kids became adults, she, perhaps in a nod to one of her favorite bands, became the rolling stone that gathers no moss. Mugsy rolled between her beloved Taos, New Mexico, and Tampa Bay and Detroit several times over the past 30 years.
But moss she did gather, in the form of deep and lasting friendships wherever she went. Whether they were co-workers, parents from her kids' school, neighbors, people she met in New Age stores or family-owned restaurants or on hikes or in dachshund groups, she drew in people whom she loved and who loved her.
Mugsy never quite grew up, maintaining a lifelong suspicion of people who took themselves too seriously. She enjoyed reading mystery novels, writing about her life, roller skating and roller blading, making a big deal out of her birthday, riding her Harley motorcycle, watching movies with hunky leads and listening to the music of her youth, especially the Beatles, Rolling Stones, Janis Joplin, and the Mamas and the Papas. She was happiest when hiking or crosscountry skiing in Taos.
Mugsy would want us to tell you to “Leap and the net shall appear,” even if it chafes her more methodical children.
She was preceded in death by her parents, Lucy and Alphonse LaValley; and her siblings Linda, Suzy, Lois, Helen and Greg. She’s survived by her son, Chris (Ginevra) Anuszkiewicz; daughter, Samantha (Don) Morris; grandchildren Annika and Peter; sister Mary; several nieces and nephews; and countless friends.
Mugsy’s life will be celebrated at 1 p.m. Saturday, April 4, 2026, at Moss Feaster Funeral Home in Dunedin, Florida. The service will be streamed online for the many people who loved her from afar. Her ashes will be scattered by her children in the Taos mountains at a later date.
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