She was born on May 4, 1941 a daughter of Harold and Catherine Smith and raised in Worcester Masssachusetts, the youngest of three children. She attended St Peters Catholic School and Anna Maria College, graduating in 1964. Peggy married her husband Ed in 1961. They had four children in four years. She often said.”I loved being a Mom.” She moved to Saco, Maine in 1975, quickly made friends who became her local family. In 2004, after retirement, she and Ed spent winters in Venice Florida at Bay Indies, where she continued to nurture new friendships.
Peggy dedicated her career to teaching. First as a substitute teacher in the Worcester and Saco Public schools as she raised her family, and later as a fourth-grade teacher at St Andre’s and St James Schools in Biddeford. She was highly regarded and was often greeted with big smiles, hugs, and words of appreciation from former students as she shopped or attended community events.
Peggy was an active parishioner at Most Holy Trinity Church. She cherished her Catholic faith: serving as a religious education teacher; planning social events on the Family Life Committee; leading Pre-Cana sessions for engaged couples; and as a Eucharistic minister serving at masses and local nursing homes.
Peggy loved her family deeply and took pride in her 56-year marriage and the accomplishments of each of her four children and 10 grandchildren. She is predeceased by her brother and his wife, Harold and Eleanor Smith. She will be greatly missed by her husband Edward J. Handlin, Jr; her sister and brother in law, Mary and Bernard Randell; her children and their spouses: Mary Kay and Joseph Ramos, Patty and Daniel Serrano, Meg Handlin and Christopher Jasonides; and Ed Handlin and Jodee Santry; 10 grandchildren; and many nieces, nephews, great-nieces and great-nephews, and close friends.
Peggy loved to travel, play mahjong, dance, and go to shows and plays. She enjoyed crafts, knitting, reading, and time spent with friends. She took pride in her Irish heritage and her New England roots.
Peggy’s true vocation was sharing her beliefs and trust in God through stories of shared experiences, inspirational words and quotes- as a parent, sister, grandparent, aunt, teacher, friend- with most anyone she met in need of comfort, a kind word, or a reminder that life is filled with many blessings.
Visiting Hours will be from 5 to 8 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 9, 2017, at Cote Funeral Home Chapel, 87 James St., Saco. A Funeral Mass will be celebrated at 10 a.m. Thursday, Aug. 10, 2017, at Most Holy Trinity Church, Saco. Burial will be at a later date in St. John’s Cemetery in Worcester, Massachusetts.
To view Margaret’s memorial page or leave an online condolence please visit www.cotefuneralhome.com
If family and friend’s desire, donations can be made in Margaret’s name to St. James School, Attn: Student and Teacher Supplemental Expense Fund, 25 Graham Street, Biddeford, ME. 04005
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