Margaret Barrett

Margaret Barrett, 104, of West Pittston died Sunday, Sept. 6, 2009, following an illness at the home of her daughter and son-in-law, Nora and William Burke. She was the widow of Robert J. Barrett Sr., who died in 1970.

Born in Scranton on Aug. 20, 1905, she was the daughter of the late Hugh and Mary Elizabeth Skiffington O'Malley. She attended Holy Rosary Catholic School, North Scranton and worked several years for the Scranton Lace Co. Her most fond and whimsical remembrance was playing piano for the silent movies.

Margaret and her husband moved to West Pittston in 1934. Long active in community affairs, she and her husband were instrumental in the founding of the West Pittston Little League Baseball and the West Pittston Teener League Baseball Organization for which she served as the first president of the Ladies' Auxiliary. She was a regional captain for the Luzerne County United Way, a Pittston Hospital volunteer, vice president of St. John the Evangelist High School Marian Club, and a member of the Scranton Preparatory School Mothers' Club. For more than 60 years Margaret was active in the Democratic Party, serving as committee woman, election board inspector, Fifth Legislative District chairwoman, and president of the West Pittston Democrat Auxiliary. As district chairwoman, she organized the Democrat Women in many of the district towns. She was an active member of Immaculate Conception Church, West Pittston, and held several offices in its Altar and Rosary Society. Before retiring she was employed by the Luzerne County Voter Registration Department.

In 2007 Margaret was honored by the Luzerne County Historical Society as the oldest living resident in West Pittston and was presented with a Distinguished Citizen award by the West Pittston Cherry Blossom Committee.

In addition to her husband, she was preceded in death by a son, Robert J. Barrett Jr.; a daughter, Jane K.Barrett; three sisters, Kathleen Kinsella, Mary Gilboy and Agnes Hopkins; and two brothers, William and Hugh O'Malley.

Surviving are a daughter, Nora Burke and her husband William, West Pittston; a son, Dr. Richard J. Barrett and his wife, Margaret, Rockville, Md.; six grandchildren, William Burke and his wife, Maripat, Scranton; Patrick Burke and his wife Anne, Leesburg, Va.; Erin Burke Weiss and her husband, Michael, Forty Fort; Robert Barrett and his wife, Anne, Alexandria, Va.; Kathleen Barrett, Washington, D.C.; and Jennifer Barrett Shirk and her husband, Mark, Harrisburg; 13 great-grandchildren, William, Jack, Peter, Maeve, Patrick, Donovan, and Katherine Burke; Julian and Louisa Barrett; Michael and Anna Weiss; Gavin and Gabrielle Shirk; two sisters, Gertrude Murray and Alice Gavin; and numerous nieces and nephews.

The funeral will be Thursday at 9 a.m. from Paul F. Leonard Funeral Home, 575 N. Main St., Pittston, with a Mass of Christian Burial at 9:30 a.m. in Immaculate Conception Church, West Pittston. Interment will be in Cathedral Cemetery, Scranton. Friends may call Wednesday, 4 to 7 p.m.

Memorial contributions may be made to Heartland Hospice Care, 38 N. Main St., Pittston, PA 18640; or to a charity of the donor's choice.