Mildred Marie Waldspurger, known affectionately as “Millie” or “Dolly” to friends and family, passed away peacefully from pneumonia at age 79 on January 27, 2020, in Palo Alto, California. She was the beloved wife of Charles James Waldspurger, dearest mother of sons Carl, Roy, and Scott, and loving grandmother to Emma and Gus Waldspurger, children of Carl and wife Paige Parsons.

Millie always gave her all, wearing many hats besides loving and caring mother.  Her joie de vivre always shone through whether babysitting younger cousins, preparing sumptuous Thanksgiving dinners, or organizing conferences for hundreds of educators.

Born December 8, 1940 to August and Mildred (Bednarik) Bagin in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, her family moved to Lansdale where she attended middle and high school.  Like her younger brother Richard and late older brother Donald, she enjoyed sports, playing basketball on her high-school team, where she was thrilled to score 25 points in a single game against one of the best teams in the league.

Starting in high school, Millie worked with life-long best friend Rose (Polito) Lepo at Stainless, a company that constructed TV and communications towers world-wide, some nearly half a mile tall.  She met her future husband Charles Waldspurger at church, and they were married at St. Stanislaus in 1963.  They relocated to Chevy Chase, Maryland, where Charles was working for the National Institutes of Health, and started raising a family.  They moved back to Pennsylvania after a few years, eventually settling into a new home in East Norriton with their three sons.  She had many close friends and neighbors, and wouldn’t hesitate to drop everything in order to help others in need.

Millie was a devoted wife and mother.  She made countless sacrifices to ensure her children received the best possible education, at one point working as a hostess at the Astor Diner to help make ends meet.  After advocating for her sons’ education, her passion for helping gifted learners led her to serve as Executive Secretary for the Pennsylvania Association for Gifted Education (PAGE). In this role, she organized conferences, worked with the board, and helped affiliates across the state until her retirement in 2006.  Her efforts over a period of more than two decades touched the lives of many thousands of students, teachers, and parents, and was formally recognized in 1991 when she was given the prestigious Margaret Neuber Award for outstanding contribution to the improvement of education for gifted children and youth.

Millie found joy as a proud and loving grandmother to Emma and Gus.  Despite the distance from her grandchildren living in the California Bay Area, nothing made her happier than frequent visits with them on both coasts.

She would have been the first to say that her family was her world, and she could always be counted on in times of need.  She would provide encouragement for your new endeavors, help revise your important document, and just be there to listen — you name it, she’d be there to help you see it through.  Millie invariably strove to please, from helping neighbors with errands both big and small to making her sons’ favorite dishes on visits home.  Her chocolate-chip cookies and chocolate cake were coveted by family and friends, making every celebration sweeter.

When medical issues became more difficult in 2014, she and Charles moved to The Avant, an independent living group in Palo Alto, near her grandchildren and sons Carl and Roy. She especially enjoyed regular visits with family, baking with her grandson Gus, and even grocery shopping with Leticia. During football season, watching Eagles games with Roy was the highlight of her week. In 2016 they moved next door to the Palo Alto Commons, where she participated in the local Catholic community, while caretakers and staff provided essential 24×7 care. Her family would like to thank the aides, nurses, and staff at the Commons for the loving care they provided during the past four years.

She is survived by husband Charles, son Carl and wife Paige Parsons, son Roy and wife Leticia Britos, son Scott, grandchildren Emma and Gus Waldspurger, brother Richard and wife Carolyn (Boccella) Bagin, sisters-in-law Margaret “Peggy” (Waldspurger) Schmidt, Ruth (Waldspurger) Curley, Carole (Rennie) Bagin, many nieces and nephews, as well as numerous friends and co-workers.

Relatives and friends are invited to her funeral on Saturday, February 8, 2020, at St. Stanislaus Church, 51 Lansdale Ave, Lansdale PA 19446.  The viewing will begin at 9am, followed by remembrances at 10:30am, and Mass at 11am. A reception in her honor will follow afterwards in the Silos Ballroom at Normandy Farm Hotel, 1401 Morris Road, Blue Bell PA 19422.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in her memory to the Pennsylvania Association for Gifted Education (PAGE), PO Box 452, Natrona Heights, PA 15065 (www.giftedpage.org).