Margaret 'Peggy' Stevenson of Quogue Dies June 24

The first thing to know about Margaret “Peggy” Stevenson is that she was intensely private. She would be wincing at the disturbance of her privacy as people read this homage. She would be more interested in acknowledging and thanking all the family, friends, and acquaintances who made her life wonderful and fulfilling.

Margaret was born on March 21, 1943 to Marguerita Kenny and Captain John Dexter Stevenson. This auspicious connection to the first day of spring led to a lifelong delight in flowers, gardens, and birds. She grew up in Quogue and Rockville Centre. She attended the Quogue School, but spent the majority of her childhood at St. Agnes Cathedral School, graduating in 1961. Margaret then earned a Bachelor of Science from the University of Maryland, College Park. Immediately following, she lived and worked in Manhattan and London before settling again in Rockville Centre. She eventually pursued a Master’s of Public Health Nutrition from New York University in the early 70s.

Margaret joined the NYC Department of Health, overseeing Women, Infants, and Children (WIC), a federally funded program providing food and nutrition support to at-risk pregnant/lactating women, infants, and children. For over 30 years, she worked to build WIC into the important program it is today hoping to achieve the goal of improving the health and long-term prospects for women and children in the New York metropolitan area. She supervised five sites across different boroughs of New York City, serving several hundreds of participants. After retirement, she remained active on the Board of the Long Island Dietetics Association.

Margaret’s family, faith, and desire to explore the world led her to embrace a life full of kindness, decency, and wonder. As a mother and grandmother, she diligently modeled and conveyed that family and education are priceless and come above all else. She was a single mother and shared a special bond with her only daughter, Elizabeth. Margaret had a discrete and individual sense of faith, rooted in her Irish Catholic and parochial school upbringing. The solemnity, rites, and music of mass gave her peace and happiness and she would take any opportunity to visit a new church. She was inspired by different cultures throughout her many meaningful travel experiences. Margaret crossed the United States, eventually going as far as China, and counted places like Alaska, Iceland, Ireland and Switzerland among her favorites. She had a profound fondness for holiday traditions and gatherings with family and friends, especially the Fourth of July, St. Patrick’s Day, Christmas, Easter, and Thanksgiving.

She loved Quogue. In the late 1890s, her grandfather Patrick Kenny came to Quogue to raise horses, charmed by the landscape and location. Two generations later, Margaret was drawn to return permanently to Quogue for the latter half of her life. She appreciated the library, the post office, the small shops on the main street, and the lure of the beach, the trees, and the quiet streets. She deeply believed in conservation efforts based on the principle that nature preceded humankind.

As a proud American and an upholder of democracy, she filled her retirement by working for the Board of Elections at every voting opportunity and was a board member of the League of Women Voters. She frequented political events and enjoyed watching debates and political commentary shows.

Margaret was a patron of the arts and liked to attend museum exhibits, concerts, architectural tours, and performances of ballet and theatre as often as possible. She could always be counted on to join a knitting group or take a painting or ceramics class.

Her enduring passions were games, puzzles, and reading. Reading the newspaper and solving the crossword were integral parts of her long weekday commutes into the city on the LIRR. She devoured books and was a regular patron of public libraries. Finally, she was an avid and accomplished bridge and mahjong player. She found great enjoyment in the mental challenge and the sharing of lively games with the invigorating characters that were her fellow players.

Margaret passed away on June 24, 2024 in her home. During her final two years, she fought with every ounce of her being against the aggressive destruction of Parkinson’s disease. Prior to that, for over a decade, she faced numerous health challenges where several leading doctors, nurses, and physical therapists gave her outstanding, personalized attention. She felt research and quality of care needs to be supported to continue to make strides in preventing and counteracting the ruthlessness and injustice of disease.

Her funeral mass is to be held on Tuesday, July 2 at 10 a.m. at the Church of the Immaculate Conception, Quiogue, NY. In lieu of flowers, please consider making a donation to one of the named organizations below (links provided).

She leaves the following people behind to persevere without her: her daughter, Elizabeth “Liz” Stevenson Haefliger and son-in-law, Olivier Haefliger; her grandsons, Henry and Paul Haefliger; her brother, John Stevenson; and many beloved cousins.

Margaret had an uncanny memory and wit that left us all in awe. She will be missed dearly. Her spirit will live on forever in our hearts.

Quogue Wildlife Refuge
https://quoguewildliferefuge.org/get-involved/become-a-member-today/

League of Women Voters of the Hamptons, Shelter Island, and the North Fork

https://lwvhsinf.org/donate-to-the-league/Columbia University Irving Medical Center https://www.givenow.columbia.edu

Columbia University Irving Medical Center

Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons

The Friends of Columbia Doctors Fund

https://www.givenow.columbia.edu