Margaret Watson Alan

Margaret Watson Alan, beloved mother, wife, sister, aunt, and friend, passed away on June 5, 2024, at the age of 89. She was born on November 29, 1934, in Chicago, Illinois. She was the daughter of John Howard Watson and Esther Spore Watson and the baby sister to three older brothers: Jack, Dave, and Bill.
Margaret showed early talent in dance. At the age of 15, she moved with her mother to post-war London to continue her studies. During the early 1950s, she was in the corps de ballet of the American Ballet Theater, and traveled around Europe and the United States performing. When she fell in love and married Barre Alan, they settled in New York City, and Margaret, who was beautiful as well as graceful and athletic, supported them both by modeling for the Ford agency. They had two sons together, Douglas and Eric (Zork), before Barre's untimely death in 1969.
Intelligent and determined, Margaret began a new chapter in her life, supporting herself and her sons as a bond broker on Wall Street. Later, she was president of Chemical Futures. Retiring in the 1990s, she returned to complete college, graduating summa cum laude from SUNY Purchase. She took many art classes, and her home is filled with bronze sculptures and stained glass pursued during those years.
In 1987, Margaret remarried the love of her life, Ira Eliasoph, an eye surgeon, ophthalmological instructor, and Navy veteran. Together, they enjoyed traveling around the country and world, including to the Grand Canyon, Greece, Turkey, and Egypt.
In other free time, Margaret loved to play bridge, earned a Life Master designation, and directed many bridge tournaments in Westchester County. She also put her artistic powers to use creating thousands of beaded necklaces, bracelets, and earrings, which she sold at local shops and art fairs and gifted to grateful friends and relatives. More recently, she enjoyed venturing to local breweries and restaurants with son Eric and his long-time partner Laura Vookles for beer and wine tastings. Eric recorded these outings in his BeerVlogs on social media, where she always had the best closing "zingers."
Margaret is survived by her steadfast and loving husband Ira, by her infinitely devoted sons, Douglas and Eric (Zork), her brother Dave, nieces Angela, Lynne, Laurel, Charmion, and Donna, and her nephew Billy. She will also be greatly missed by Laura Vookles and her son Evan Matherly, for whom Margaret was like a grandmother, as well as her husband Ira's children Jeff, Laura, Diane, and Pamela.
Plans for a future memorial gathering are still being determined. If you would like the details emailed to you when they are finalized, please contact the family at abt_dancer_mom@icloud.com. In lieu of flowers, donations in Margaret's memory can be made to the Hudson River Museum in Yonkers, NY (https://www.hrm.org/donate/the-fund-for-hrm/)