Margaret was originally from Greenwich, Connecticut, but moved to Midland with her husband, Basil, and family and it has been their home since. Her degrees were in Child Development, and Basil, was a Professor of English at Saginaw Valley State University.
Margaret claims that her key role after their move to Midland was mom to their two children, Dorothy and Tim. That job description included room mother, Camp Fire Leader, Cub Scout Leader, Junior Great Books Facilitator, and Coach for Battle of the Books teams for both of her children. She worked part-time at the Chippewa Nature Center as an interpreter, guide/educator for over 20 years. Working with and for children was her gift, passion, and training.
One of her new friends in Midland was Marian Jones. Marian had the talent of “plugging in” Margaret with compatible groups and causes. Marian urged locals to expand their knowledge and awareness of others nationally and internationally. As president of Church Women United, she collaborated with a UN committee to support international aid. She was committed to UNICEF, with its emphasis on aid for children around the world. Margaret shared that Marian was an extraordinary woman who opened the world for her. Even today, Margaret repeated Marian’s axiom, “the world is bigger than you see!”
Marian Jones found a like-minded friend in Margaret, who had experienced her first international experience in 1965. She spent her junior year in college in the Philippines, on the Island of Negros, in the town of Dumaguete. She remembers the date and time well, as it was the year President Ferdinand Marcos Sr. was elected to office. However, it would be decades before Margaret became aware of Dumaguete’s connection to Grace A. Dow and Midland.
Thanks to the research and publication of “Mission Accomplished: Robert and Metta Silliman’s Missionary Work in the Philippines, 1924-1966” by Tawny Ryan Nelb, Margaret learned that the Sillimans’ mission had been supported by their major patron, Grace A. Dow, and other members of the Midland First Presbyterian Church (and later Bertha E.R. Strosacker Memorial Presbyterian Church) in Midland. Michigan. Silliman University was their base.
Margaret is a member of Midland’s United Church of Christ Church. The congregation has a history for its dedication to race relations, Civil Rights, and peace issues. The Reverend Roger Pancost, pastor since 2004, knows Margaret well and shared the following tribute:
“Over the two decades that I have known Margaret, I have had several of the young women in our church tell me that they wish to be like her when they grow up. What they mean by this comment is that they hope to imitate the many ways in which Margaret shares her love with others. Every day, individuals are blessed by Margaret’s acts of kindness, which include receiving a note of support in the mail, finding a bouquet of flowers in a recycled jar on the front porch, or being gifted with an inspirational embroidery piece. These thoughtful gestures have touched the hearts of countless people in our church and in this community.”
