Mary Jane (Wargo) Dailey

Last Updated on August 6, 2026 by cassnetwork

Mary Jane (Wargo) Dailey, 99, passed away at Blair Ridge Health Campus, July 30, 2026. Mary Jane was born in Akron Ohio, the eldest daughter of Stephen Wargo and Loretta McNelly Wargo. Jane was born on October 17, 1926. Her twin brothers, Richard and Stephen, were born on March 17, 1929. Her youngest brother, James, was born on her 8th birthday, October 17, 1934.

In 1936, when Jane was 10 years old, her father was the plant manager for the General Tire and Rubber Plant in Wabash Indiana. They lived there only about 3 years, but those were depression years and most of the town was employed by her father. She felt like they were royalty.

Jane attended Mount Mercy College in Pittsburgh for two years. In the summer of 1947, when she was home in Toledo for the summer, her mother encouraged her to go to a young adult social at St. Charles Catholic Church in Toledo. Orv Dailey was there, and he had a car. He offered to drive Jane, and three other woman, home. Jane was the last one dropped off. The rest is history. Jane and Orv were married in January, 1948, in Akron Ohio. Orv’s job took them to Cambridge Ohio, but they didn’t move right away. Jane was staying with her parents in Akron in 1949 when their first son, Patrick was born. A new job brought them back to Toledo in 1950. They bought their first house shortly after the birth of their second son, Joseph. Kathleen followed in 1951 and Daniel in 1953. In 1956 Jane and Orv moved into their “forever home” in Toledo, but the next year Orv took a job with Chrysler in Detroit. For a whole year he commuted back to Toledo on the weekends, while Jane managed 4 children, ages 9-5, during the week. In 1958, the family moved to Detroit. Once the children were all in school, Jane went back to school at Mercy College in Detroit to finish her degree. She bought a typewriter to write her term papers. Her children wanted to play with the typewriter, so she taught all four of them to type one summer. Later, each one of them received an Olympia Typewriter as a high school graduation gift.

In 1966, the family moved to Indianapolis with Chrysler. The following year, Jane started working at Belzer Junior High in the attendance department when Dan was in Junior High. Later, she became assistant to the athletic director at Lawrence North High School. Dan moved to Chicago after graduating from Purdue University. It was there that he met Christine Danta at a 4th of July party in 1979. They were married on July 5th, 1980. Their son Matthew was born in 1983 and Steven in 1986. Orv took early retirement from Chrysler in 1980 and he and Jane moved to Logansport Indiana. Orv worked for a local company and in 1982 they built what became their actual forever home. That house burned in 1985, and while Orv continued working, Jane managed the rebuilding of the house in 1985/86.

Jane was a master gardener, and for several years, was president of the Fall Creek Garden Club. In those days, the garden club managed the cutting gardens for the Indianapolis Museum of Fine Arts. Jane won more than a few blue ribbons for her arrangements. The local florist gave her free reign to wander through the cold storage and pick the floral materials she wanted for her arrangements.

Her grandson Steve married Cara Trask at Christ the Redeemer Church in Lake Orion where her son Joe was pastor. Jane brought flowers from her garden for the wedding. From that union, Jane was thrilled to welcome three great grandchildren into her heart, Elise Jane, Luke Edward and Jillian Grace.

The flowers in Jane’s garden have been planted and replanted throughout Indiana and Michigan. Many of her friends have plants that came from her garden. She sold the Logansport house and moved to Blair Ridge in Peru, Indiana, when she could no longer garden.

Jane lived a long life. She buried a husband and her two youngest children, but her strength and her deep faith carried her through. She had the wisdom to imagine life beyond the conventions of her day. In her later years, she was in touch with family and friends through email and phone calls. She was deeply interested in what was going on in their lives and she kept up with all that was going on in the world. We will miss her faithful presence and her love, but it is a gift to have known her.

The Funeral mass for Jane Dailey will be Monday, August 17 at 11 AM at Saint Charles Borromeo in Peru, Indiana. There is visitation @ 10 AM, a luncheon to follow the mass.

Condolences can be shared at https://www.kroegerfuneralhome.com.