MARGO SWEET

SWEET, Margo Of Waltham, MA, died suddenly on Sept. 8 at her home after suffering a heart attack. She was 66. She was born in Boston, MA on Dec. 11, 1945. She was the daughter of the late Marian Rickenbaugh Sweet of Norton, MA and the late William Otis Sweet of Reno, NV, and the sister of the late Susan Sweet Lombard who was killed as a passenger in a car accident on Martha's Vineyard, MA on March 27, 2012. She grew up in Attleboro, MA and attended local schools and summered with her family in Pittsburg, NH. She graduated from Walnut Hill School in 1963 and 3rd in her class at Skidmore College in 1967, where she earned a bachelor's degree in government. One of the highlights of Margo's life was a summer in the early 1970s spent helping Brad Washburn of the Boston Museum of Science, and his wife, Barbara, survey and map the Grand Canyon. Margo devoted herself to work in the fields of public service and education beginning at Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government as an administrative assistant from 1969-73. From 1973 to 1975 she lived and worked in Laxenburg, Austria where she assisted the Director in the organizational start-up of the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA) and also managed its publications department. She worked as a senior paralegal for the South Carolina Attorney General's Office, Columbia, SC from 1979-1986 and earned a Master of Public Administration from the University of South Carolina in 1983. From 1986-1988 she worked at the American Academy of Arts and Science, Cambridge, MA. She worked as a manager and sales consultant at Angel House Designs, Marlboro, MA, 1990-1994. She was an administrative assistant for the Education Development Center, Inc., Center for Families and Children in Newton, MA. For the past nine years, Margo worked in the Office of Development and Alumni Relations at Brandeis University where, among other responsibilities, she helped manage the development newsletter and contributed to Brandeis Magazine. Margo was an indispensable supporter and caregiver to family members and friends in need. She had a lifelong love of animals and nature and travel throughout New England. She leaves her sister, Seth Sweet, and brother-in-law, Erik Nielsen, of Westwood, MA; her nephew, Laurence Lombard of New York City; and her niece, Hillary Sweet Lombard of Brooklyn, NY; an aunt, and many cousins and dear friends. Two days after Margo's death, more than 75 people from around the Brandeis campus attended a memorial service in her honor that was led by the Rev. Walter Cuenin, one of the University's chaplains. Present and past colleagues shared their memories of Margo's warmth, humanity, and good humor. A memorial service will be held on Oct. 22, 2012 at 1:00 pm. in the Bethlehem Chapel on the Brandeis Campus. For campus directions please visit www.brandeis.edu/about/visiting/map.html. Ample parking nearby. Relatives, friends and colleagues are all invited. A reception will follow. In lieu of flowers, donations in Margo's memory may be made to the Ammonoosuc Conservation Trust, Bethlehem, NH, http://www.aconservationtrust.org or MSPCA-Angell, Boston, MA or at www.mspca.org. For online guestbook, please visit: www.dyer-lakefuneralhome.com Dyer-Lake Funeral Home (508) 695-0200