Margaret Smithfield Mason, age 98, of Annapolis, Maryland, died peacefully at home October 24, 2015.
Funeral visitation will be held from 6:00 – 8:00 PM Wednesday, October 28 at John M. Taylor Funeral Home, 147 Duke of Gloucester St., Annapolis MD. Church service will be held at St. Martin’s Lutheran Church, 10:00 AM Thursday, October 29. Interment will be 12:00 at Parklawn Memorial Park, Rockville, MD.
The beloved daughter of John W. and Sabina A. Smithfield, the loving wife of 57 years of the late L. Edward “Ed” Mason and the loving mother of the late Ellen D. Moisan and Patricia G. Moisan, she is survived by her son Stuart E. Moisan, her daughter-in-law Bonnie B. Moisan, her grandchildren Robert E. Swartwout, Leigh S. Dawson, and Lewis A. Moisan, and four great grandchildren.
She was preceded in death by her Smithfield siblings E. Ruth Rye, Blanche Steed, Basil Smithfield, Frances Pressler, and Helen Jones.
A 51 year resident of Bay Ridge, Annapolis, MD, she was born October 22, 1917 in Martin, TN and grew up in the vicinity of Erin, TN. She began her work career at Vanderbilt University Hospital and moved to Washington, DC in 1941 to work for the U.S. War Department. Her subsequent employment in the DC area included the American Red Cross, the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, and the National Institutes of Health.
After moving to Annapolis, MD, she worked at ARINC, the Maryland State Legislature as secretary to Stanley Blair (MD Secretary of State), and 13 years at the EPA Annapolis Field Office, where she retired from Federal Government employment in 1980.
She was a member of St. Martin’s Lutheran Church of Annapolis and took an active part in local community organizations, most notably the Bay Ridge Book Club and Bay Ridge Garden Club. Devoted wife and mother, she gave unreservedly her energy and time to her family. She loved poetry for its connection to the immediacy of the life we are given to live. She wanted to pass to all who might succeed her that “…life is a wonderful journey with its highs and lows. Treasure the privilege and live it fully – not in the past or the future – but in the now.”
In lieu of flowers, the family suggests making a contribution to St. Martin’s Lutheran Church (1120 Spa Rd, Annapolis, MD 21403).