CLASS NOTES
Sherry Margeson On Aug. 15, 2016, Sherry Lee (Stanclift) Margeson, the retired office manager in Dining Services at Northfield Mount Hermon, died peacefully at home, surrounded by family, after a two-year battle with cancer. She had worked at NMH for 28 years in the same department and retired in 2015 as a result of her illness; she was 59. One of five siblings — four sisters and a brother — Margeson was born June 5, 1957, in Harlingen, Texas. The family relocated to New Hampshire and Sherry graduated from Hinsdale High School. She enlisted in the U.S. Air Force and served for four years, during which time she met her future husband, Allan Margeson. They married in 1980 and had two sons. In 1987, Margeson was hired as administrative assistant to the director of Dining Services at NMH. She oversaw the accounting and communication work of a program with five dining halls and 50 staff members. She became the first Dining Services staff member to work with a computer, a feat recalled by Director Rich Messer as only one in a long list of duties that Margeson willingly and successfully took on during her long tenure. She learned event planning, created menus for thousands of NMH celebrations, followed culinary and wedding trends, all with an eye toward making NMH an event destination. In 2007, Margeson added the duties of catering manager to her already-full job. According to Rich Messer, she was sensitive to and protective of the residents of Ford Cottage, which is frequently used for NMH events. As a person whose family was everything to her, she tried to keep the head of school’s residence feeling like more of a home and less of an event venue. When Margeson retired, Messer delivered a farewell speech in which he described her as the most caring friend and colleague he had had the privilege of working with. “She loved her job and was immensely proud of what she had accomplished at NMH,” he says. He later added that her most treasured NMH moments came when her son Cam ’09 was accepted at NMH and when he graduated. Margeson and her husband Allan loved traveling, especially to Rye Beach in New Hampshire and Disney World in Orlando, Florida. They were avid walkers, usually accompanied by their Chihuahua Lucie. As Margeson’s illness progressed, Allan built a backyard perennial garden for her and it was there that the family held a private memorial
service after her passing. Retired NMH staff member Josie Rigby said she and Margeson grew close during the 15 years they planned reunion menus together. The two saw each other often during the late stages of Sherry’s illness and Josie sang the Northfield Benediction at the memorial service. Josie described Sherry as a strong person who never complained,
who wrote her own obituary for the local paper, and who planned the menu for the reception held at NMH after her memorial service. Survivors include her husband, her sons Ian Edward Margeson and Cameron Spencer Margeson ’09, Ian’s wife Danielle, her beloved grandson Oliver Edward, her mother Paula Girard and husband Donald, four siblings, and several nieces and nephews. The family suggests that memorial contributions be made to the Baystate Regional Cancer Program, Baystate Franklin Oncology Dept., 164 High St., Greenfield, MA 01301, or to Hospice of Franklin County, 329 Conway St., Greenfield, MA 01301.
After this issue of NMH Magazine went into production, we learned of the Sept. 14 passing of Richard “Dick” Preston Unsworth ’45, who was Northfield Mount Hermon’s head of school from 1980 to 1991. Unsworth was a scholar, a mentor to many in the NMH community, and a champion of social justice throughout his adult life. “He died peacefully and gracefully, as anyone who knew him would hope and expect,” Head of School Peter Fayroian wrote in a message to faculty and staff in September. Unsworth was 89. A full “In Memoriam” will be published in the spring issue of NMH Magazine.
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