Margaret Frances Spooner, 99, formerly of Methuen, MA, passed away peacefully on Friday morning, August 18, 2017, at the Berkeley Home in Lawrence, MA. She was three months and 12 days short of her 100th birthday.

The only child of Blanche E. Hartley and Elliott P. Spooner, Margaret was born at home in Methuen on November 30, 1917. She graduated from the Edward F. Searles High School in Methuen in 1935 and then went to McIntosh Business School for a year. Two weeks after graduation, she secured a job at the American Mutual Liability Insurance Company in Lawrence for the princely sum of $14 a week. She spent her entire working life at that company. Margaret’s first job was as a clerk/typist. She eventually became an administrative assistant in the company and retired after 40 years of service there. During WWII she served as a member of the Massachusetts Women’s Defense Corps.

Margaret had a wonderful sense of humor. She loved playing board games, card games and yellow Volkswagen Beetle convertibles. She also enjoyed going to the beach at Hampton NH and at Plum Island MA with her mother and friends and gardening at her home. In her retirement, Margaret traveled to Europe and the Holy Land and throughout the United States and Canada with her friends. She often went into Boston for sporting events and theater performances.

She was a highly respected lifelong member of First Church Congregational in Methuen and is thought to hold the membership longevity record there. She was chair of the flower committee, and served as a deacon, church collector, member of the Phillips Guild, and on several pastoral search committees. She participated frequently in Bible study classes at the church.

In 2008, Margaret moved from her home in Methuen to the Berkeley Home, where she lived until her death. She was predeceased by her parents and is survived by her cousins Barbara Bolton of Palm City, FL, and Deborah Reed of Falmouth, ME, and by many friends.

A celebration of Margaret’s life will be held at 11 a.m., Wednesday, August 23, at First Church Congregational, 26 Pleasant Street in Methuen MA. Private burial will be at Walnut Grove Cemetery in Methuen. Memorial contributions may be made in Margaret’s name to the First Church Congregational, 26 Pleasant Street, Methuen, MA 01844.

To leave an online condolence, please visit www.dewhirstfuneral.com

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