Mary Derkics, 92, formerly of 227 E. Boundary St., died May 18 at The Virginian Nursing Center, Fairfax, Va. Prior to moving to The Virginian, she lived at the Country Meadows Nursing Center, Bridgeville, from January 2004 to September 2005.

Born Nov. 21, 1913, she was the daughter of the Mr. and Mrs. Frank Bega of Lyndora.

She was a member of the First Baptist Church; and during the years her husband was a deacon, she served the church by performing the duties expected of deacons' wives at the time.

The oldest of nine children, she was a homemaker and had worked at the Spaide Shirt Factory prior to and for a short time after her marriage.

An advocate of higher education, she strongly supported her children's pursuit of undergraduate and graduate education. She also was a feminist before the term came into use and encouraged her daughters choices of non-traditional academic disciplines and careers.

Mrs. Derkics had a lifelong passion for gardening and planted a garden every spring until she was 89. She also was adept in growing exotic species of cactus, orchids and African violets. Her treasures included a night-blooming Cereus that bore dozens of fragrant platter-sized blossoms each year. She also enjoyed crocheting, embroidery and crafts and had the unique ability to reproduce an item by simply looking at a sample.

Her husband, Otto Derkics, whom she married Feb. 3, 1934, died Feb. 11, 2002.

Surviving are a sister, Margaret Long of Butler; two daughters, Mary Ann DeBonis and her husband, Albert P. DeBonis, of Pittsburgh and Jeanne (Dorothy J.) Carney and her husband, John F. Carney, of Vienna, Va.; a son, Daniel L. Derkics and his wife, Marilyn Buse, of Gaithersburg, Md.; two grandchildren, Kathryn Diana Derkics of Gaithersburg and Jonathan F. Carney and his wife, Ingrid B. Carney, of St. Louis, Mo.; and several nieces and nephews.

<B>DERKICS </B>— Visitation and services for Mary Derkics, who died Thursday, May 18, 2006, will be private. Burial will be at the Butler County Memorial Park, Butler Township.In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to Meals on Wheels, 218 E. Jefferson St., Butler, PA 16001; the Butler County Area Agency on Aging, 111 Sunnyview Circle, Butler, PA 16001: or to the First Baptist Church Christian School, 221 W. New Castle St., Butler, PA 16001.In the Pittsburgh area, donations may be made to ASERA Care Hospice, 1500 Ardmore Blvd., Pittsburgh, PA 15221; and in the Washington, D.C., they may be made to the Capital Hospice Development Office, 6565 Arlington Blvd., Suite 501, Falls Church, VA 22042.Arrangements are being handled by the <B>Thompson-Miller Funeral Home</B>;<B> </B>and information also is available at www.thompson-miller.com.