Margaret "Margo" Mona Ehrig passed away peacefully of natural causes on November 12, 2025, just days before her 98th birthday. She was a woman of steady and unmistakable refinement—down-to-earth, memorable, and deeply loved.
She was born in 1927 in Santa Maria, California, and spent her early childhood exploring the world alongside her beloved brother, Diack, their childhood spanning from Hollywood to Hermosa Beach. After graduating from Redondo High School, she earned her bachelor's degree from Pomona College. She later traveled to Japan to teach American military children, beginning a lifelong engagement with culture, learning, and thoughtful service.
After surviving a serious surgery early in adulthood—and losing her beloved brother, whom she always called her twin—Margo chose to embrace Catholicism, a steady faith she carried throughout her life. In the mid-1950s she met Leonard Ehrig at a Catholic social dance, and together they married and built a life filled with travel, family, and a lively and beautiful home.
Her four children—two girls, Katie and Maggie, and two boys, Robert and Paul—were the great devotion of her life. Through adoption, she built a family rooted in intention and love, giving them a childhood rich in curiosity, adventure, and belonging. In turn, they gave her life its deepest sense of purpose.
Margo served her community with dedication and a distinctive style all her own. She volunteered at the Los Angeles Zoo, helped start a children's library, led youth groups, tended wildlife, planted trees, cleaned beaches, and created a beloved parish book booth that flourished for more than a decade. Animals trusted her naturally—from the stray cats she welcomed to the dogs she walked through Bronson Park at sunrise.
Her home reflected her personality: thoughtful, book-filled, and full of things that mattered to her. She read the newspaper cover to cover every day, accompanied by her quiet ritual of tea. She had an extraordinary memory and told the stories of her life with vivid, effortless detail, as though the past were always close at hand. She let her yard grow wild in its own rhythm, a large sanctuary for birds, blossoms, butterflies, and the unexpected beauty she saw everywhere. She also had many friends she who loved her for her wit, warmth, and easygoing energy.
She loved her children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren deeply, and Christmas was her favorite time with them—especially the years she crafted handmade angel cards, each one different, each one created with care. She read Shakespeare, cherished her travels, and found joy in dancing throughout her life, especially square dancing in her later years. After Leonard's passing, she shared companionship and easy conversation with her partner, Ken. Her children cared for her faithfully in her later years, with Robert and Marizela providing her daily comfort and support at home.
Margo is preceded in death by her parents; her beloved brother, Diack; her husband, Leonard; her partner, Ken; and her daughter, Katie Kirk.
She is survived by her children Maggie Ehrig, Robert Ehrig (Marizela Ehrig), and Paul Ehrig (Marta Ehrig); her grandchildren Sheera, Nicolle, Erika, Roxanne, Tyler, Giovanna, and Lili; and her great-grandchildren Destiny, Stephanie, Sage, Venice, Anakin, and Owen.
Margo was a steadfast, intelligent, and deeply caring matriarch. Her legacy lives on in the humor, resilience, and reverence for the natural world she instilled in her family.
We imagine her now, reunited with those she cherished, moving lightly across heaven's dance floor.
She was born in 1927 in Santa Maria, California, and spent her early childhood exploring the world alongside her beloved brother, Diack, their childhood spanning from Hollywood to Hermosa Beach. After graduating from Redondo High School, she earned her bachelor's degree from Pomona College. She later traveled to Japan to teach American military children, beginning a lifelong engagement with culture, learning, and thoughtful service.
After surviving a serious surgery early in adulthood—and losing her beloved brother, whom she always called her twin—Margo chose to embrace Catholicism, a steady faith she carried throughout her life. In the mid-1950s she met Leonard Ehrig at a Catholic social dance, and together they married and built a life filled with travel, family, and a lively and beautiful home.
Her four children—two girls, Katie and Maggie, and two boys, Robert and Paul—were the great devotion of her life. Through adoption, she built a family rooted in intention and love, giving them a childhood rich in curiosity, adventure, and belonging. In turn, they gave her life its deepest sense of purpose.
Margo served her community with dedication and a distinctive style all her own. She volunteered at the Los Angeles Zoo, helped start a children's library, led youth groups, tended wildlife, planted trees, cleaned beaches, and created a beloved parish book booth that flourished for more than a decade. Animals trusted her naturally—from the stray cats she welcomed to the dogs she walked through Bronson Park at sunrise.
Her home reflected her personality: thoughtful, book-filled, and full of things that mattered to her. She read the newspaper cover to cover every day, accompanied by her quiet ritual of tea. She had an extraordinary memory and told the stories of her life with vivid, effortless detail, as though the past were always close at hand. She let her yard grow wild in its own rhythm, a large sanctuary for birds, blossoms, butterflies, and the unexpected beauty she saw everywhere. She also had many friends she who loved her for her wit, warmth, and easygoing energy.
She loved her children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren deeply, and Christmas was her favorite time with them—especially the years she crafted handmade angel cards, each one different, each one created with care. She read Shakespeare, cherished her travels, and found joy in dancing throughout her life, especially square dancing in her later years. After Leonard's passing, she shared companionship and easy conversation with her partner, Ken. Her children cared for her faithfully in her later years, with Robert and Marizela providing her daily comfort and support at home.
Margo is preceded in death by her parents; her beloved brother, Diack; her husband, Leonard; her partner, Ken; and her daughter, Katie Kirk.
She is survived by her children Maggie Ehrig, Robert Ehrig (Marizela Ehrig), and Paul Ehrig (Marta Ehrig); her grandchildren Sheera, Nicolle, Erika, Roxanne, Tyler, Giovanna, and Lili; and her great-grandchildren Destiny, Stephanie, Sage, Venice, Anakin, and Owen.
Margo was a steadfast, intelligent, and deeply caring matriarch. Her legacy lives on in the humor, resilience, and reverence for the natural world she instilled in her family.
We imagine her now, reunited with those she cherished, moving lightly across heaven's dance floor.
To order memorial trees or send flowers to the family in memory of Margaret “Margo” Mona Hamilton, please visit our flower store.
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