Margaret Anne Carlson

Margaret Anne Carlson

Hancock, NH - Margaret Anne Carlson, age 93, passed away on October 16, 2023 after a life full of love and adventures. She is survived by her five children: Meg (Joe Mozdiez), Charlie (Susan Carlson), Tom (Nancy Carlson), Anne (Don Goldberg), and Sam (Linda McGinnis), twelve grandchildren, and eight great grandchildren. Her beloved husband, John E. Carlson Jr., aka Jack, whom she married twice, predeceased her in 2017. Margaret grew up in New York City, the second daughter of Joseph and Mary Lee Zeller, and the sister of Mary Kerr and Elizabeth Rivers.

Margaret graduated from Wellesley College in 1951 and earned a Master's degree in Education from Framingham State College in 1973. She taught English at Weston Jr. High School, Framingham South High School, and Keefe Technical High School (all in Massachusetts). In 1977 at Keefe Tech, she and another teacher took 20 students to China when it first opened its borders to tourism. In 1978, she was appointed as a Fullbright Exchange teacher and taught at an inner city school in London for a year. She went on to teach as Chairperson of the English Department at Conval High School in Peterborough, NH, where she helped start the Advanced Placement program. She received two awards from the National Endowment for the Humanities to study in summer seminars, first in Oregon (Shakespeare) and later in Vienna (Mozart). Through the National Council of English Teachers, her Journal article on adding literature by and about women to the high school curriculum won the annual writing award in 1990. After retiring in 1993, Margaret later taught as an adjunct professor at Franklin Pierce College and Keene State College.

Margaret and Jack initially lived in Wellesley, MA, and then in 1958 moved to Sherborn, MA, where they raised their five children until 1980. Margaret fostered independence, creative thinking, and a love of travel and the outdoors in all her children. Cape Cod was a favorite place for family vacations and she loved Nauset Beach. She organized backyard theater productions for her family and friends. She was active in starting the Fresh Air program in Wellesley and Sherborn which gave New York City children the experience of suburban and country life during the summer, and volunteered at a local women's prison. Margaret served on the local school committee, and ran for political office as a Democrat in a very Republican district, knowing she would likely lose but wanting to share her liberal views.

Margaret later lived in Hancock, NH for 40 years. She was the first woman to serve on the town's Select Board, and was known for collecting and publishing the work of local writers. She enjoyed swimming and boating with her husband on nearby Nubanusit Lake, and was an avid gardener, tending beautiful flower beds all around their property. Margaret was a very competitive tennis player along with her husband Jack, and a very skilled ping pong player, beating almost everyone with glee until the last year of her life. Always challenging herself, she bought a motorcycle at age 44 and a new bicycle at age 89.

Margaret was a gifted and prolific writer of letters, poems, books about her life and family, travel journals, and more. She loved music as well, playing the violin in several orchestras in Massachusetts and in New Hampshire, and playing her guitar, organ, and piano at home. She also organized performances of Handel's Messiah, played in the bell choir of a local church, and attended many barbershop singing performances.

Margaret was a world traveler. She took many trips around the United States, India, Africa, South America, and Europe. She worked as a Global Volunteer in Mississippi and in Quito, Ecuador. In 1979 she worked as a cook on a yacht traveling from Ireland across the Atlantic Ocean until it was shipwrecked in the Azores after a horrific storm. At age 70, Margaret sailed around the world on the Semester at Sea cruise ship as a passenger and teacher. She made friends wherever she went.

Margaret was a "Force" amid her family, friends, during her teaching career, and within any organization she participated. She was always moving forward, bringing change as she moved through life.

Her burial will be private, and the family will gather to celebrate her in the spring. Donations in her memory can be sent to the Alzheimer's Family Support Center in Brewster, MA, or the Friends of the Hancock Library in Hancock, NH.