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Aviles, Margretta C.

October 23, 1941 –
 July 2, 2015

Obituary

Born Margretta Lilian Clark at Florence Nightingale Hospital in Dallas on October 23, 1941, to Grace and John Clark, who precede her in death. She is preceded in death as well by beloved husband Ernest W. Grumbles, Jr. Margretta grew up in University Park and was a proud graduate of Dallas Country Day School and Bradfield Elementary School. Childhood was spent playing pirate on McFarlin Ave. and at her family’s home in Stone Harbor on her beloved Jersey shore. Margretta worked on the newspaper and went on a lot of dates at Highland Park High School, where she met so many lifelong friends. Two cold winters at Mary Baldwin College in Virginia were enough to make Dallas look very appealing again, and Margretta enrolled at SMU. There, Margretta enjoyed her Pi Phi sisters, with whom she has remained close, enjoyed studying history, and worked up an asthma attack in order to get out of a chemistry final. After a brief stint for grad school at UT in Austin (what Mom called “her hippie years”), she came back to Dallas and met and married Ernest Grumbles, with whom she had two children, Ernest III and Diana. Margretta was active in the Junior League of Dallas, where she loved being a “walking ad” in the JLD Ball and working at the Planetarium, and she certainly was active in the kids’ school, serving weekly in the lunchroom, as room mom, and on many a school field trip. A new and happy life began when Margretta met Jose M. Aviles and fell hard and fast. Over their nearly 30 years of marriage, the two shared many adventures, including travel, astronomy, bird-watching, and fun times with wonderful, dear friends. They especially loved their trips to Santa Fe and to Minnesota to see son Ernest and family. Margretta was a loving grandmother to her four grandchildren. She took grandson Danny to the park hundreds of times when he was little; and she loved visits with her three beautiful granddaughters. In later years, Margretta found joy and peace at St. Michael and All Angels Episcopal Church in Dallas. Margretta greatly missed her volunteer work at “the Exchange” when that was no longer possible for her. Her friends in the St. Michael’s Cancer Support group were so important to her. Margretta especially wanted to thank the Stephen Ministry program. Margretta and Jose were sustained through some difficult times by warm and wonderful friends, new and old, and they are forever thankful for the constant prayers, meals, and visits. Margretta is survived by loving husband Jose Aviles; son Ernest W. Grumbles, III, his wife Mary, and their three children, Kate, Lucy, and Jane; daughter and partner-in-crime Diana Grumbles Blackman, her husband Chris, and grandson Danny Solomon; brother Johnny Clark and sister-in-law Barbara; nieces Catherine Clark Kimball and Sue Clark Harralson; sister-in-law Gay Grumbles Haller (Dick); niece Beth Haller; all of the Cicoria family; and ever-loyal canine companion, Precious. Service will be at 1pm on Tuesday, July 7, 2015, at St. Michael & All Angels Church, 8011 Douglas Ave, Dallas, TX, 75225. A reception at the church will follow.

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R. Driver
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"Excellent customer service, they made you feel like you were their only customer. Very helpful and explained what we should expect during the process. They basically took care of our needs during this time. They contacted DFW National Cemetery for us which made it a smooth experience. Definitely will use them again."
K. Barker
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"I was amazed how professional the team at Aria Funeral Preston Dallas Texas are. They guided me through the process and my options of their services that they offered for my mother. They are compassionate, caring, calm, good listener, efficient and did an excellent job! Thank you!"
R. Woll
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"If I could give 6 stars I would. Aria made a difficult easier to deal with by basically taking care of everything in an efficient but very empathetic manner. I can speak highly enough of Dusty Martin, who helped us with all of the planning and logistics. He was incredibly understanding and helpful."
Angel M.
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"Nothing prepares you for the grief you go through when losing a child. I called this funeral home at 2:00 am broken and could barely talk. The amount of compassion and empathy they showed me immediately let me know I found the right place to cremate my son. I cannot thank them enough for their professionalism, SINCERE concern, and commitment to making sure my son was honored in the most respectful way. I hope this Funeral home values her as much as my family and I do."
McGee Family
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"Wayne and Staff, thank you for taking care of the arrangements for our mom, Exter McGee and our dad, Philip McGee. You have been great to work with during such a difficult time."
Elledge Family
Elledge Family
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"On behalf of my family, I wanted you to know how much we appreciate your handling of my husband's final arrangements. Wayne Baxter assisted & guided us through the entire process with such care & compassion. Don't know what we would have done without him! Sincerely, Colleen Elledge"
The Peterson Family
The Peterson FamilyYelp! Review - Northwest Highway 5-Stars
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"I can’t say enough about how helpful and professional Dusty Martin, the funeral director at the Aria Cremation location on NW Highway has been. From my initial call, he was kind and informative. My friend died at home while on hospice and she was picked up in about an hour after receiving the call from the hospice nurse. The person who arrived to pick her up was also very professional/respectful and allowed us to take as much time with her as we wished. When I met with Dusty the next day about arrangements, he explained the process and options available without being pushy or trying to “sell” extras. Throughout the process, he kept me informed and, for example, was careful to be certain I understood the cost of the obituary I wanted and offered some options for reducing that cost if I wished. When I stopped by for another reason and started talking about some of the problems I was having with the pictures and media I hoped to use at a memorial lunch I was planning, he not only listened patiently but offered technology advice and let me use his personal media player. I have had experience arranging cremations for four others using two other local companies, and this experience with Dusty at Aria has been by far the best one I have had."
Paula Barnes
Paula BarnesGoogle Review
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"My Daddy’s service and our family experience at Aria Northwest Highway was truly blessed. Funeral Director Dustin Martin is the kind of person that you would like to see on a more regular basis – but in his industry – you hope to not see him that often. That being said – THANK YOU DUSTIN for your unending kindness, compassion and friendship through the process. Meeting you and discussing Dallas History, Find A Grave and my Dad’s lifelong contributions to the great City of Dallas was simply wonderful! In memory of my dad James A. Dodd, Sr. – I want to personally thank you and let you know that you made everything better in that moment. Your calling to “Be There” is spot on. Aria has a one in a million guy in you! Bling Blinky of TEXAS Shout Out: God Bless You!!"
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