Mary Beth, as she preferred to be called, was born on January 15, 1942, to Claude and Dorothy Dibble (Robertshaw) in Kenosha, WI. She attended Roosevelt Elementary, Lincoln Jr. High School and graduated from Mary D. Bradford High School in 1960. She took great pride in being in the 100th-anniversary class of Bradford High School.
A significant event during her high school years was the passing away of her mother during her Junior year in High School. She recalled vividly that the Assistant Principal, Mr. Stocker, came to her classroom, and it was then she knew her mother passed away. Mr. Stocker was her mother’s math teacher in Jr. High.
Upon graduation, she enrolled in the UW Extension-Kenosha program to begin her college career. While in her freshman year, she was encouraged to enter the Ms. Kenosha Pagent that was to be held in May 1961. She did so in hopes of winning scholarship money for college. Somewhat to her surprise, she won the pageant and thus entered the Ms. Wisconsin Pagent in June of 1961. She was the first runner-up in that contest and won more scholarship money. It led to a year of interesting events and meeting new people. Somehow her tiara disappeared years ago, and she seemed happy with that.
During her sophomore year in college, she met Paul Haubrich, also a graduate of Mary D. Bradford High School in Kenosha; they both attended the same high school but did not know each other during those years. They married on August 31, 1963, and moved to Madison while Paul finished his three degrees. Their son, Joel Mathew, was born on October 3, 1966, and their daughter, Heidi Ann, was born on July 24, 1969. For most of those years, they resided in Oregon, WI, cheaper rent, and enjoyed many friends and experiences of small-town America. Today, Joel is married to Brenda Wood and resides in Milwaukee; Heidi is married to Peter Panos and resides in Brookfield.
In 1970, Paul accepted a position on the faculty of UW-Milwaukee, and they moved to Milwaukee’s east side. Mary Beth became active in the North Shore Women’s Club and The University Wifes Association. She made many friends on the east side, especially the Wonderful Bridge Club (WBC), and had summer and winter parties, camping trips, and sojourns to Gulf Shores, Alabama during Easter vacations. The WBC still celebrates with parties, friendship and now monthly Friday lunches.
Mary Beth began her professional career in the area of community relations, which included publications, fundraising and event organization. She did this for 25 years and then took early retirement to garden, arrange flowers for church and enjoy the opportunity to work on her schedule.
Cooking and cookbooks were Mary Beth’s hobby for many years, and she was a fan of Jacques Pepin and loved watching cooking shows, much to her husband's dismay. She was an avid collector of Frankomma Pottery for over 30 years.
St. Paul’s Episcopal Church became a focus of her life until her death. She worked on committees, served as hospitality chair and was active in leadership, serving as both Jr. and Sr. Warden on two separate occasions. A great joy in her life was coordinating St. Paul’s Thrift Shop for 20 years until it closed, temporarily, during Covid. Working with the volunteers, and neighborhood customers, with the proceeds being donated to local charities.
MB as many people would call her – you could call her MB but not Mary – was ready to be a grandma for her five grandchildren; in order of birth, they are: Sofia Panos Schwappach (Alex), George Panos (Alison), Christopher Haubrich, Michael Panos and Eva Haubrich. She took great pride in their accomplishments and had positive hopes for their futures. She is further survived by her brother, John Thomas Dibble (Jeanne), of Huston, TX, and nieces and nephews.
Mary Beth was resolute in her faith and took great solace in the Episcopal Liturgy. She loved and was loved by her family and will be missed. Mary Beth passed away on August 1, 2024. Her funeral service will be held at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church (914 East Knapp St., Milwaukee). A brief visitation will be held from 10:30AM to noon, immediately followed by a service of Christian Burial.
In lieu of flowers, memorial donations to Sojourner House of Peace would be appreciated by the family.