Parting Thoughts

Margaret Graham Neeson

Margaret Graham Neeson, 91, summer resident of Spruce Head Island since 1952 and year-round resident since 1984, died after a short illness on Oct. 8. Born Dec. 27, 1918 in Toronto, Canada, she was the daughter of Ronald and Marguerite Graham and the fourth child of a family of 13 children. She attended McGill University in Montreal from which she received her B.A. in 1940. After a year living in Vancouver, British Columbia, she enrolled in Columbia University in New York and graduated with an M.A. in Journalism in 1943. While living in Greenwich Village in New York City, during the war, she met her future husband, Jack Neeson, on a blind date and six weeks later they married.Her husband’s career as a theater director and college professor entailed her living in a number of different areas of the country. She worked as a reporter and did public relations work in New York, New Bedford, Cleveland, Charleston, London (UK), Athens, Grand Rapids, San Jose and Pittsburgh. For almost 20 years she had a monthly column called “The Ditty Bag” in The Skipper Magazine. She wrote a history of the Episcopal Chapel in St. George named “On Solid Granite.” She also wrote a biography of her mother, “Marguerite’s Story” and a book of fiction titled “White Rock Ways” about life on a small Maine Island.

She continued to write articles and did public relations work in Maine and was a member and past president of the Maine Media Women. In 1990 she, along with her husband, founded Long Point Press which publishes books and monographs relating to Maine. After her husband’s retirement, the pair traveled extensively throughout the country and in Europe and would spend the cold dark months living in the French Quarter in New Orleans. No matter where Margie and Jack were, they were just as interested in talking and being with each other as they had been 58 years before in the White Horse Tavern in the Village.

A women of many interests, she was a voracious reader and enjoyed learning and discussing the various issues of the day. A warm and dear friend to many, she loved entertaining friends and family around her large dinner table at her beloved Spruce Head Island house. Mrs. Neeson is survived by her son, John David Neeson and wife Barbara Waltz Neeson; and granddaughter, Johanna Neeson, all of Edgecomb; seven brothers and sisters in Canada; and approximately 62 nephews and nieces all over.

Eucharistic Celebration 2 p.m., Wed., Oct. 13 at St. Peter’s Episcopal Church, 6 White St., Rockland. The Rev. Glenn Maheffey will officiate and the Rev. Dr. Ralph M. Moore will deliver the homily. Interment will be in the Ocean View Cemetery, South Thomaston, at a later date.

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to the South Thomaston Ambulance Service, P.O. Box 147, South Thomaston, ME 04858, or St. Peter’s Episcopal Church, P.O. Box 457, Rockland, ME 04841. To leave on-line condolences, please visit obituaries at www.bchfh.com. Arrangements are in the care of Burpee, Carpenter & Hutchins Funeral Home, 110 Limerock St., Rockland.

Categories: JD Neeson

Tags: British Columbia, Columbia University, Greenwich Village, Journalism, Margaret Graham Neeson, McGill University, Montreal, New York, reporter, Toronto, Vancouver

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