Marjorie E. Zybach Monaghan of Ann Arbor, Michigan passed away peacefully in her home on Monday, July 3 surrounded by her family. She was the loving wife of 60 years of Thomas S. Monaghan and devoted mother of four wonderful daughters, Mary (Joseph) Beagle, Susan (Gary) Staub, Barbara (Caleb Zandstra) Monaghan, and Margaret Marcantonio. Her ten grandchildren and six great-grandchildren held an extraordinarily special place in her heart and life.
Marge was born on January 17, 1940, to Robert and Elsie (Stroble) Zybach and was the second of three children. She was preceded in death by her brother, Robert Zybach, and is survived by her sister, Diane (Bill) Zybach Klimmek. She was born and raised in Bay City, Michigan until she attended and graduated from Central Michigan University in Mount Pleasant. It was there that she met her husband, Thomas S. Monaghan, in 1962 when he was delivering a pizza to the dorm where she was working at the switchboard. He was smitten by her at first sight and proposed to her on their third date. They were married on August 25, 1962.
Marge’s steady and unassuming nature served as the bedrock of their family. The early years of their marriage were marked by hard work and sacrifice as she raised their four daughters while Domino’s Pizza experienced many ups and downs. When they were first married, they lived in a small mobile home, saving all they could while building their family and the company. It was Marge’s unwavering support and steady hand that served as the foundation not only for their family, but also as the true anchor for Tom and the success Domino’s experienced over the years. In the early years, Marge did the bookkeeping for Domino’s and later payroll, which she did until the sale of the company in 1998; she would individually distribute paychecks to all the employees in the headquarters. She was well known and revered by all the headquarter employees.
Marge always loved holidays and celebrating them with her family. She was especially passionate about Christmas and would spend months lovingly preparing to make this a special day for her children, grandchildren, and eventually great-grandchildren. She would patiently spend hours wrapping presents in preparation for the family gathering on Christmas Day. This devotion to Christmas was honored with the well-known Light Display at Domino’s Farms and later led to her establishing (and owning) a Christmas store, Silver Bells (in Dundee, MI), which enabled her to share this love of Christmas with others year-round.
Marge enjoyed the simple pleasures in life like reading and knitting blankets for grandchildren and great-grandchildren, as well as for children of Domino’s employees. She was extremely loyal to her family and friends and always valued the importance of hard work. In spite of the extraordinary success of Domino’s Pizza and the opportunities this presented, she remained unpretentious and down to earth.
She had a playful nature about her and held a special place in her heart for animals, which was exhibited in her affection for her golden retriever, Sasha, and in her later years, her cat, Smokey.
Marge will be desperately missed by all who knew her, but most acutely by her family, to whom she so faithfully modeled the meaning of unconditional love.
With heartfelt appreciation, the Monaghan family would like to thank her caregivers who assisted Marge during the final years, as well as friends for their well-wishes and prayers. Visitation and funeral services were held on July 9 and 10 in Ann Arbor.
In lieu of flowers, please send donations to: Leukemia Research Foundation, 191 Waukegan Rd., ste. 105, Northfield, Illinois 60093; or Marine Toys for Tots Foundation, The Cooper Center, 18251 Quantico Gateway Dr., Triangle, VA 22172-1776.
