The CHCO Headquarters at Christmas

MARY COFFEY MILTENBERGER

CUMBERLAND — Mary C. Miltenberger embraced her life and interests with independence, resourcefulness, tenacity, and passion. Well-known in the Cumberland, Md. community for fearless monitoring of government, inventive entrepreneurship, and broad involvement in community affairs, she also raised a large family with Frederick W. Miltenberger, a respected local surgeon. She died from complications of COVID infection on Nov. 8, 2024.

Born (1934) in Cumberland, Md. as the first child of F. Wade Coffey and Mary A. (Stegmaier) Coffey, she graduated from Catholic Girls Central High School in Cumberland and attended the University of Maryland, majoring in home economics. She married Fred in 1955 when he entered medical school at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond. They also lived in Wheeling and Morgantown, W.Va. (during his internship and residency) and in San Antonio, Texas and Fairbanks, Alaska (during his Air Force service).

They had seven children within ten years, which she raised mostly alone because in those years a physician in medical training had no time for anything else. Amazingly, during her child-rearing years, she obtained a bachelor’s degree in home economics from the University of Alaska, established and directed a Day Care Center for about 20 preschoolers in her own home, which she promoted among women of West Virginia University, and later earned a master’s degree in counseling psychology from Frostburg State College.

After resettling in Cumberland and while rearing her own children, she became co-director of the Allegany County Head Start Program and assisted battered women, even bringing them into her own home when no other housing was available to them.

She was a passionate advocate for historic preservation and other local community activities. She championed the preservation of post-civil-war cemeteries through the Cumberland Historic Cemetery Organization, which continues its mission today. She also fought to preserve the Victorian-era Queen City Hotel in the 1970s, one of the last remaining railroad hotels in the U.S., and worked to save Saints Peter and Paul Monastery in the 1990s, although both were razed. Mary also supported the Cumberland Theater, donating the main stage curtain and occasional costumes. She also was an avid letter writer to the editors of the Cumberland Times-News about community issues.

Mary Miltenberger monitored local governments fearlessly. The Cumberland City Council and the Allegany County Board of Commissioners often found her at meetings contesting local, county, and state policies. She was active in the Maryland Republican Party, running for multiple offices and hosting local grassroots efforts, including the Tea Party in Western Maryland. She was known for her efforts to tackle corruption in Western Maryland.

During one incident when she requested FBI support against drug running in Western Maryland, her mailbox was pipe-bombed. She also received tips and requests from jailed inmates who asked for help in resolving injustices.

As a Cumberland entrepreneur, Mary owned an eclectic array of businesses. In the early 1980s, she opened a popular dress shop on North Center Street that sold formal and informal wear. She created costumes for male dancers at the Hangar Club in Camp Springs, Maryland. She converted several buildings she owned into affordable apartments. She owned and managed a 200-acre property on Smouse’s Mill Road as a hay and tree farm under conservation principles. The property featured a large antebellum farmhouse that she named Terra Angelica, which is recognized by the National Register of Historic Places, due to her petition. She opened a Wellness Center there and offered health products, inspirational materials, counseling, and mind-body healing (on-site and remotely) before alternative medicine was understood as an effective ancillary to medical care. She also opened Terra Angelica as a wedding venue and as a bed and breakfast with spa services for traveling guests. In all, she was resourceful, forward-thinking, and ahead of her time.

She is survived by seven children and six grandchildren: Francine M. Miltenberger (and spouse Ken Kilen and son Alexander Kilen) of Redwood City, Calif.; Lawrence F. Miltenberger (and spouse Kathryn and children Vincent and Kate) of San Francisco, Ca.; Julia Louise Miltenberger of Cumberland; Beth E. Latimer (and son David) of Cumberland; Matthew A. Miltenberger (and spouse Lynn and sons Alexander and Kevin) of Kalamazoo, Mich.; Bernard W. Miltenberger (and spouse Penny L. Price) of Frostburg, Md.; and Rosalynn J. Miltenberger (and partner Barry D. Bruce) of Knoxville, Tenn. She also is survived by two siblings: Theodore W. Coffey of Greenspring, W.Va. and Rosanna M. Coffey of North Bethesda, Md., and is pre-deceased by her husband, Dr. Frederick W. Miltenberger and a brother, Matthew B. Coffey of Washington, D.C.

Mary’s family extends sincere gratitude and appreciation to the Allegany Health Nursing and Rehabilitation staff who provided excellent care for Mary in her final years. A memorial service will be held in the Spring for family and friends.