Margaret Sturgis Ayer

Franklin - Margaret S. "Peggy" Ayer died January 29, 2024, at age 97. Born in Portland ME June 7, 1926, she was raised in Belmont MA. Having graduated from Mount Holyoke College in 1947, she met John B. "Jack" Ayer of Franklin CT when she was working for the Red Cross in New Haven and he was a graduate student at Yale University. They married in September 1950 and settled on the Ayer family dairy farm (est. 1665) in Franklin. They subsequently had six children, from 1951 to 1962: John, Timothy, Margaret B. (known as Meg), Robert, Sarah, and Alison. They shared the farm with Jack's brother, Eugene, his wife, Anne, and their children David and Judy.

Peg spent her life helping people. She was a loving older sister to Alice C. Grady, of Massachusetts, and Joy S. Foster, of New Hampshire, and cooperated with them to ensure that her children and their cousins enjoyed time together, including at their beloved Isle of Springs, in Maine. In her work life she was a teacher, first as a substitute teacher in local elementary schools, then for many years as a kindergarten teacher in Salem. Later she worked for Project LEARN and Operation Child Find and as the Southeastern Connecticut Child Protection Coordinator, in cooperation with Lawrence & Memorial Hospital in New London.

She was even more generous with her time and energy helping others as a volunteer. She was very active in the Franklin Congregational Church, serving as a deacon, singing in the choir, organizing chicken barbecues, and much more. She was a prime mover in the Franklin PTA. She served for years on the Eastern Regional Mental Health Board and spent many hours working as a counselor for CONTACT, the crisis hotline. She was a member of the Franklin Grange, the DAR, and the Franklin Historical Society. There were many other worthy causes and organizations to which she gave her time, effort, and intellect.

Peg loved music, and her lovely alto voice made her a joyful participant and a vocal mainstay wherever there was singing. She sang in the Lebanon Community Chorus, the St. Patrick's Cathedral Diocesan Choir in Norwich, and the Eastern Connecticut Symphony Chorus. She even dug out her viola and played in Norwich's Rose Arts Festival Orchestra one year.

Peg was predeceased by her husband, Jack, her son Timothy (Heidi), and her daughter Meg. She is survived by her sons John (Silvia) and Rob (Beth) and her daughters Sarah and Alison (Mike Potts), seven grandchildren (Amy and Michael Ayer [Amy Chow]; Jared and Caelin Ayer; and Kate Seely [Cormac], Emily Thomas [John], and Kimberly Ayer), five great-grandchildren (Tegan and Brennan Seely, and June, John Shepherd, and Annie Thomas), nieces and nephews, and numerous cousins of multiple generations.

One measure of a life may be the happy memories of simply spending time with you that others cherish when you're gone. Another may be the respect in which you're held for the worthy things you attempted and accomplished in service to your community. Yet another may be the legacy of a love of learning, serving, and caring that you leave in the form of your children, and their children, and beyond. In all these ways, Peg's was a life eminently well lived.

A celebration of Peg's life will be held at the Franklin Congregational Church, 31 Meetinghouse Hill Road, Franklin, at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday March 16, 2024, with a reception to follow. All are welcome. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests donations to the Isle of Springs Memorial and Recognition Fund, c/o Anne Morehouse, Treasurer, 54 Water Street, Leeds, MA 01053; or to Mount Holyoke College, Office of Gift Planning, 50 College Street, South Hadley MA 01075, designated for the Margaret B. Ayer Scholarship Fund.