Margaret was born on August 4, 1918 in Lennoxville, Quebec, Canada to Marion (Poole) and Walter Sutton. The family moved to Ohio, for a short time before coming to Lyndonville (Squabble Hollow) Vermont where Margaret and her sister, Louise, grew up. Margaret attended Squabble Hollow School and graduated from Lyndon Institute in 1935. She then attended Lyndon Normal School (which later became Lyndon Teachers College and eventually NVU-Lyndon) for two years. She was a lifelong advocate for the value of education.
Margaret married Charles Hunter in 1938. They owned and operated a dairy farm in Mt. Hunger for 35 years. During that time she was a member of the Lyndon School Board for over 20 years and a trustee of Lyndon Institute. She was also active in the farm bureau, Home Dem, and worked at Edmunds Pharmacy in the 1950s and 1960s. Charles passed away in 1973. In 1974 Margaret married J. Henry Engman. They spent their time in Florida during the winters and Vermont in the summers. After Henrys death in 1989 she continued to spend the winters in Florida until 2010, when she moved back to Vermont full time.
Margaret was a wonderful inspiration-a strong, outgoing, hardworking, uplifting, independent woman. She was feisty, witty, adventurous, and curious and quickly became friends with those she met. She loved animals and people. Margaret focused on the positive, found the best in people and connected them through fun stories and laughter over good food. She loved to laugh, and lived each day to the fullest. Margaret was generous and beloved. The matriarch of an extensive family, Margaret loved her family fiercely and her huge heart only grew larger with each addition.
Margaret is survived by her children, Robert of Weston, MA and Doris (Garrett) of Cary, NC, Janice (Hunter) Somers of East Burke, VT, Mark and Sharon (Craig) Hunter of Lyndonville, VT , and step-son, Ted and Leila (Ray) Engman of Alexandria, VA, as well as 15 grandchildren (Charlie, Sean, Sammy, Jennie, Debby, Sharon, Bo, Jeff, Craig, Kendra, Cole, Karla, Kirsten, Karen, Eric), 18 great grandchildren (Jonathan, Ben, Stephanie, Ben, Zach, Sam, Michael, Jason, Josh, Allie, Anna, Kassandra, Bauer, James, Jesse, Nathan, Sarah, Julia) and 1 great great grandson (Mica).
Besides her parents and husbands, Margaret was predeceased by her step-son, David and Cynthia Engman, sister, Louise and her husbands, Reginald Noyes and Charlie Hitchcock, daughter-in-law, Mary Ellen (Armstrong) Hunter, son-in-law, Newell V Somers, and sister-in-law, Evelyn (Hunter) and husband Lawrence Munkittrick. She joined those she loved in Heaven on January 1, 2020.
Memorial Services will be held at 2:00pm, Friday, August 7, 2020 at the East Burke Congregational Church. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to a remembrance fund the family is forming. Details will be available by her service in May.
Margaret lived a life of love. We count our blessings that she lived to be 101.
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