Margaret Catherine Dear

She was born Margaret Catherine Regan in Manhattan on June 13, 1932. She grew up in Brooklyn. Her first-generation Irish parents both worked at banks in Manhattan. Her dream was to become a doctor, and though faculty at St. John’s University ardently support her, such a career was not deemed appropriate for her. In her early 20s, Peggy Regan, RN, had completed her studies at St. John’s and at St. Vincent’s Hospital School of Nursing, paid for by herself. She quickly became head nurse at St. Vincent’s Hospital, supervising hundreds of nurses.

She met David Reid Dear of Jersey City, N.J. when they were maid-of-honor and best man at their best friend’s wedding. He lived in Elizabeth City, N.C., running his family’s newly acquired newspaper, The Daily Advance. They raised four sons there. In 1967, following the death of David’s older brother, Joseph Dear, the family relocated to Maryland. David became president of the family business, Dear Publication and Radio.

She earned a Ph.D. in sociology from the Catholic University of America. As a professor of nursing in the 1970s, Dr. Dear taught at Georgetown University, then Johns Hopkins University, then conducted research on staff of the National Institutes of Health. Her academic articles on a wide variety of topics related to nursing were published into this century. She ended her career in the 2000s at George Mason University. She was a co-founder and ardent proponent of the Nursing Foundation of Maryland. By avocation she was a scholar and critic of the history of British royalty.

Dr. Dear was preceded in death by her loving husband, David R. Dear, her parents John and Catherine Regan, and a brother, John Regan. She is survived by a brother, George Regan, of Columbia, Md., four sons, David Dear Jr. (Karen) of Danbury, Conn., Fr. John Dear of Calif., Brian Dear (Patricia), Stephen Dear (Janet) of Elmira, Ore., and three grandchildren, Patrick Dear (Christina) of Sunnyvale, Calif., Katherine Dear of Worcester, Mass., and Jennifer Dear of Milford, Pa.

A visitation will be held at Joseph Gawler’s Sons Funeral Home, Washington, D.C., on Monday, July 24 from 5 to 7 p.m. A Mass in celebration of her life will be held at Our Lady of Mercy Catholic Parish, Potomac, Md. on Tuesday, July 25 at 11 a.m. Burial will take place at Gate of Heaven Cemetery, Silver Spring, Md. on Tuesday, July 25 at 1 p.m. In lieu of flowers, donations may be sent to Pax Christi USA or the Nursing Foundation of Maryland.