PETERBOROUGH — Marie H. (Sedlak) Tichy, 88, died at Summerhill on June 19, 2010. She moved to Peterborough three years ago from Lyndhurst, Ohio.

Mrs. Tichy was born in Cleveland, Ohio, on April 30, 1922, the daughter of Stefanie (Korotvickova) and Anton F. Sedlak. As a child she grew up farming, where she learned the values of family and hard work. She was always comfortable around large animals, and at the age of seven was given responsibility for driving a two-horse team while her brothers and father hand-loaded the hay wagon.

As a young adult she worked in Cleveland as an executive secretary at Carnegie Body Company and later as a professional seamstress at Richmond Brothers Company, where she tailored men’s suits. For the remainder of her working life she sewed one-of-a-kind garments and custom draperies for private clients.

Marie was a devoted mother to her only child, and a surrogate mom for many others. In later life she cared for her elderly parents, moving them from Florida to live at home with her in Euclid, Ohio. Friends and family will remember her for her generosity to others and can-do spirit in all things.

She enjoyed gardening, cooking, traveling (she visited all 50 states), horseback riding, photography, and as an adult fulfilled a life-long dream of learning to play the organ. She was fluent in Czech (a.k.a. Bohemian), the written and spoken language of Bohemia, a historical region in central Europe occupying the western and middle thirds of the Czech Republic.

Her husband of 48 years, Louis E. Tichy, died in 1990. She is survived by her son, Leonard Tichy, and his wife, Phyllis, of Peterborough; her brother, Loy Sedlak of Florida; two grandchildren, Garth Tichy and Erin Taylor; and two great-grandsons.

Services will be private for the family.

Memorial gifts may be made to the Alzheimer’s Association, 311 Arsenal St., Watertown, MA 02472.

Jellison Funeral Home, Peterborough, is assisting the family with the arrangements.