Margaret Hodson Black

Margaret Hodson Black, beloved teacher and advisor to three generations, died on Wednesday, November 28, 2001 at Union Hospital, Elkton, MD. She was 98 years old. Born on September 26, 2903, she was the daughter of the late Dr. Robert Markley and Mary Storr Black. Miss Black was raised in Cecilton, MD. Miss Black entered school in Cecilton in 1910, graduated from Girl’s Latin School in Baltimore in 1921 and in 1923 earned a Special Certificate in Music from the Women’s College of Delaware (now the University of Delaware). She earned her B.A. from the University of Delaware in 1939 and also her Masters in Psychology in 1949. Miss Black’s professional career extended over four decades, from 1923 when she was first hired as a high school teacher in Easton, MD to her retirement form position as Counseling Psychologist at the University of Delaware in 1969. Miss Black was the first music major at Women’s College of Delaware and throughout her life playing and teaching music was a source of great pleasure. From 1923 to 1926 Miss Black was the first high school music teacher for Easton, MD; from 1926 to 1929 she taught music at Frederick High School and Methods of Music Teaching at Hood College; from 1929 to 1930 she was Director of Music at Salisbury State Normal School in Salisbury, MD. She was the first Music Supervisor for Cecil County from 1930 to 1932, taught part-time at the Teacher’s College in Salisbury, MD from 1932 to 1933, then she became the Director of Music at Salisbury State College from 1933 to 1943. During World War II Miss Black was a member of the Army Special Services form 1943 to 1946, serving at Camp Pickett, Virginia and Indiantown Gap in Pennsylvania. After the war, Miss Black entered a new phase in her career, earning a Masters Degree in Psychology from the University of Delaware in 1949 and working for two decades as a licensed psychologist in Maryland and Delaware. From 1946 to 1949 she worked at the Psychological Counseling Center at the University of Delaware in Both Wilmington and Newark; from 1949 to 1952 Miss Black was the Director of Student Personnel Services at Salisbury State College, also teaching one semester as Professor of Music. She Continued to work as Counseling Psychologist at the University of Delaware from 1952 until her retirement in 1969. Continuing with her music during her active retirement, Miss Black taught piano and organ for another three decades. Some years she traveled to music festivals in Salzburg, Wales and France. Living in her childhood home on West Main Street in Cecilton, Miss Black practiced daily on the grand piano in her living room and delighted selected friends with preludes and sonatas well into her nineties. Miss Black was a life member of the International Council of Psychologists, and a charter member of the Delaware Psychological Association. She was also a member of the Easton Players and the Newark Drama Group. She wrote and directed the Salisbury Bi-Centennial Pageant with a cast of five hundred. In 1992 she was made Professor Emeritus at Salisbury State University and in 1997 she was awarded a place in Music Hall of Fame of the University of Maryland, College Park, MD. Miss Black was also a member of St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church. Memorial services will be held on Friday, December 7, 2001 at 2:00 at the St. Stephens Episcopal Church, Earleville, MD. Interment will be at Zion Cemetery in Cecilton, MD. Memorial contributions may be made to the Maryland Library for the Blind, 415 Park Avenue, Baltimore, MD 21201-3603 or to the Northern Chesapeake Hospice, 239 S. Bridge Street, Elkton, MD 21921. Arrangements by Fellows, Helfenbein & Newnam Funeral Home, P.A. 226 E. Main Street, Cecilton, MD 21921