Mary Lou Dibling

Mary Lou Pruden Dibling, 84, passed away peacefully on July 31, 2026, at Cape Fear Valley Medical Center in Fayetteville, North Carolina.

Funerals arrangements will be announced soon.

Born on February 5, 1942, in Haskins, Ohio, Mary Lou was the beloved daughter of the late Myron Leroy and Marie Walbolt Pruden. A bright child from the start, she skipped first grade and joined a class of sixteen second graders—where she met her classmate and future husband, William Louis "Bill" Dibling. The two remained close friends throughout their school years, graduating together from Otsego High School in 1959. Once Bill got his driver’s license as a teenager, he asked Mary Lou on their first date, beginning a lifelong love story. They were married on January 6, 1962.

Following high school, Mary Lou attended Bowling Green State University for a year before taking a role at Huntington Bank of Wood County. As she fondly recalled to a local newspaper, "I was tired of school. I wanted to get a job and make some money." She worked until marrying Bill, who was serving as a Marine Corps aviation electronics technician in North Carolina.

The couple began their family in New Bern, North Carolina, welcoming two daughters before returning to Ohio in 1964 upon Bill's discharge. Bill worked at Mercury Packaging Service and later accepted a position with Xerox, while Mary Lou—who had always dreamed of becoming an educator—joined the Sandusky Public School System and Head Start as a teacher's assistant. She also served dedicatedly as a Girl Scout leader. During these years, they welcomed a son and two more daughters.

Once her five children were older, Mary Lou pursued higher education while continuing to balance work and family life. Graduating cum laude with a Bachelor of Science in Education in 1980, she credited her family’s strong support for allowing her to juggle home, school, and work—hoping to set an example of self-reliance and responsibility for her children. Mary Lou spent more than 30 years as a devoted educator in Ohio and North Carolina before retiring from W.T. Brown Elementary in Spring Lake, NC.

In her free time, Mary Lou loved crafting, scrapbooking, making handmade cards, and working on puzzles. She was an active member of the Tar Heel Quilter’s Guild and took immense pride in crafting handmade quilts for infants in the local NICU. She also lovingly made baby blankets for future generations and crocheted keepsakes for each of her grandchildren upon their high school graduations. Together, Mary Lou and Bill traveled extensively across the United States, visited Europe on multiple occasions, and continued to enjoy shorter excursions together in their later years. Above all, she treasured time spent with her large, loving family.

Mary Lou was preceded in death by her parents, Myron and Marie Pruden, and her brother-in-law, James German.

She is survived by her devoted husband of 64 years, William "Bill" Dibling; her siblings, Myron (Sue) Pruden and Laura Lee German; her five children, Susan (Carter) Bowyer, Jaine (Roger) Wood, Dean (Dena Vassey) Dibling, Mary (Jim) Backus, and Sarah (Phil) Wheeler; 8 grandchildren, Jennifer Weaver, Shane (Ashton) Wood, Jeyms (Tara Bailey) Dibling, Megan (Colin) Cumberledge, Shannon Dibling, Michael (Hannah) Dibling, Gabi Backus, and Kendall Dibling; 5 step-grandchildren, Samantha Owens, Kaitlin Bowyer, Megan Bowyer, Myda Ali and Kamran Ali; 10 great-grandchildren, Keilyn Lomax, Kelsey Mills, Krae Lomax, Memphis Mills, Lily Cumberledge, Jackson Mills, Colin Cumberledge, Max Mills, Daisy Dibling, and Theodore Dibling; as well as many beloved nieces, nephews, and friends.