Margaret J. Hooton

Margaret J. Hooton (Maggie), age 68, of Riverton, West Virginia died from a massive cerebral hemorrhage on December 2, 2010 in Grant Memorial Hospital, Petersburg, West Virginia. Maggie was born in Waterbury, September 3, 1942. She was the only child of Helen Silks Jakubauskas and Constantine Jakubauskas. Maggie taught creative writing and English at Danbury High School for 15 years. She met and married, fellow teacher, Art Hooton and they moved to Riverton, West Virginia in 1980, where they found "almost heaven" on earth and built a homestead that embodied the qualities of the life they valued. Maggie was both a seeker and a visionary. Everything she did was filtered through a deep appreciation for the beauty of the present moment, respect for the interconnected web of life and for the careful use and management of nature's gifts. She was an avid gardener and demonstrated her love of life and passion for all things artistic. She was a gifted craftswoman with the sewing machine, a writer, a poet, a musician and a talented painter. She reflected the same creative ingenuity when she cooked and preserved food grown on their family farm at Timber Ridge. Maggie brought these values and skills to her work life: Her West Virginia resume included employment at the Potomac Highlands Guild in Petersburg, the Augusta Heritage Center in Elkins, The Mountain Institute at Spruce Knob, as well as Future Generations in Franklin. In 1999, Maggie's entrepreneurial, dynamic and creative spirit gave birth to a web design business, Red Eft Web Design, which created and managed web sites locally in West Virginia and across the country. From her office/studio sky room on the side of Spruce Knob, she entered and touched the lives of many people. Her legacy will live on in her good works and in the heart of her husband Art and her cat, Ping. She leaves behind a basket of mending, a full larder, opened paint containers and an unfinished watercolor of a lovely bunch of carrots. Clearly, her intention was to live much longer than she did. A memorial service will be celebrated in May when the apple trees are next in bloom. Memories and remembrances may be shared at Red Eft Web Design: www.redeft.com Contributions in her memory may be made to the Pendleton Animal Welfare Shelter(PAWS) P.O. Box 804, Franklin, WVA 26807.