"Not only was she my teacher, she was also the mother of a peer, friends with my parents and an Admiral Heights neighbor," Mrs. Leadbeater said. "I could look out the window and see her house, but in the classroom, she put me at ease."
Mrs. Leadbeater recalled Mrs. Gilhooly's conservative style of dress and "starched white collars."
"She was always looked crisp and clean," she recalled. "In the classroom, she never raised her voice and was always smiling. She had a very expressive face and really didn't have to talk all that much."
Mrs. Gilhooly retired in 1990.
"I had always loved thoroughbred racing and going to the track, and one night when we were going to dinner at Howard Johnson's on Route 50, I said I was thinking of buying a horse," Mr. Gilhooly said.
"I thought Inez might jump out of the car right there on Route 50 at that suggestion but she surprised me with her answer. She said, 'As long as you've been interested in horse racing, I wondered why you put off so long buying a horse,' " he said.
They established Schoolyard Stables, which has operated at Maryland racetracks since 1982.
Some years were successful, and some weren't, Mr. Gilhooly said. "Inez used to say, 'As long as they keep paying the bills, we're happy with them,' " he said, laughing.
Mrs. Gilhooly enjoyed photography and travel. She also liked playing tennis and golfing with her husband at the Naval Academy golf course, where they were members.
"She even got a hole-in-one one time," her husband said.
Eight years ago, Mrs. Gilhooly began experiencing the beginning of the illness that would eventually claim her life.
"She came home one day and told me to sell her car. She had gone to Graul's at Cape St. Claire and couldn't figure out how to get home," her husband said. "And then she was unable to remember when playing golf the number of strokes she had taken at a hole."
No longer able to play, she still enjoyed accompanying her husband on his weekly matches and riding along on the golf cart for a couple of hours.
"The three guys I regularly play with were glad to have Inez along and were very kind to her. They were just terrific," Mr. Gilhooly said. "They talked with her, held her hand when I was putting and made those outings especially enjoyable for her."
Since 2004, the couple has lived at the Charlestown retirement community in Catonsville.
Mrs. Gilhooly was a member of Heritage Baptist Church in Annapolis.
Services are private.
Also surviving are two daughters, Brenda Gilhooly of Middletown, N.Y., and Nancy Purdy of Forest Hill; a sister, Rosemary Habel of Roanoke; and four grandchildren.
