By Nicole Hamilton
The Cincinnati Enquirer

Even after a stroke left Mary Margaret Compton Hussey partially paralyzed and unable to talk, she was still making others around her laugh.

"Her indomitable spirit enabled her to continue to entertain people with humorous faces and expressions," said her daughter, Anne Compton Noschang of Hyde Park. "She loved to laugh and make others laugh, and she was always clipping funny stories and poems out of the newspaper to share with family and friends."

Mrs. Compton Hussey died at the Marjorie P. Lee Retirement Community on Feb. 28 of complications from a stroke. The longtime former Terrace Park resident was 86.

Raised in Springfield, Mo., she married Lathrop "Bud" Compton, while he was an Army lieutenant during World War II.

The two settled in St. Louis, where Mrs. Compton Hussey raised their two daughters, until 1955, when Mr. Compton was transferred to Cincinnati.

In 1959, Mrs. Compton Hussey began her longtime career in real estate. Over the course of almost three decades, she earned several sales awards for her efforts on the east side. She retired from Comey & Shepherd in 1987.

Mr. Compton died of cancer in 1994, and Mrs. Compton Hussey married John C. Hussey Jr. in 1997.

A longtime volunteer, she worked with organizations including the Salvation Army Women's Auxiliary, Meals on Wheels, Wellness Community, Terrace Park Village Views, and Cincinnati Art Museum.

Her daughter said she was a, "marvelous cook, and she enjoyed reading, gardening, going to the opera, and playing bridge."

Besides her husband and her daughter, other survivors include another daughter, Elizabeth Compton Sideris of Natick, Mass..; two sisters, Betty Portman of Topeka, Kan., and Catherine Colman of Hemet, Calif.; a brother, William Cope of Portland, Maine; three grandchildren; and four great-grandchildren.

Services have been held. The body was cremated. Memorials to Marjorie P. Lee Retirement Community, 3550 Shaw Ave., Cincinnati, OH 45208.

E-mail: nhamilton@enquirer.com