Margaret Bowhay

1932 - 2013

Margaret Waters Bowhay, age 81, of LaGrange Park, formerly of Western Springs and Park Forest, died Wednesday at LaGrange Hospital. She was the dear mother of James (Cynthia) Bowhay of LaGrange and Anne Bowhay (Jeff Hanneman) of Oak Park; dear grandmother of Sam and Ruth Bowhay, and Emily, Peter, and Jane Hanneman; dear wife of the late James H. Bowhay; and dear sister of James Q. Waters of Gold Canyon, Az. A memorial service is planned for Sunday, Dec. 15, at 1:30 p.m., at First Congregational Church of Western Springs. Interment will be private at Mount Hope Cemetery, Chicago. Margaret Ellen "Peggy" Waters was born July 2, 1932 in Lakewood, Ohio, to Ruth Esther Carlson Waters and James Davis Waters. She and her brother, Jim, were raised in Lakewood and Cleveland Heights. After earning a full-tuition scholarship from the Vassar Club of Cleveland, Peggy graduated from Vassar College with a degree in political science in 1955. Upon graduation, Peggy moved to San Francisco to be a fellow in the Coro Fellows Program in Public Affairs. There she met her future husband, Jim, a Burlingame, Calif. native. After they completed the Coro program, Peggy and Jim married on August 25, 1956. Peggy was a homemaker in the early years of marriage, raising their two children. The family lived in Red Bluff, Sacramento and Oakland (Montclair), Calif., moving to Park Forest in 1969, when Jim became director of the Midwest office of the Council of State Governments. Peggy joined the Park Forest League of Women Voters, soon becoming president of its 150-member chapter. She went on to the League's State Board, before joining the Chicago League's accounting/development staff in 1973. Later, Peggy went to work for several accounting firms, including Blackman Kallick LLP of Chicago and Peterek & Howse, LLP of Westchester. Widowed in 1988, Peggy retired to Western Springs in 1994, and in 2000 moved to Plymouth Place. She was active with the First Congregational Church of Western Springs, including its Woman's Society and Benevolence Committee. Peggy also volunteered for her beloved alma mater, raising class gifts for Vassar's Class of 1955. In lieu of flowers, memorials to First Congregational Church of Western Springs, 1106 Chestnut Street, Western Springs, IL, 60558, or the College Scholarship Fund at the Chicago Coalition for the Homeless, 70 E. Lake St., Suite 720, Chicago, 60601.