Margaret Ryan

Margaret L. Ryan died on Feb. 5, 2026 at Calvary Hospital in the Bronx. She was 83.

Margaret worked as a psychiatric social worker for decades, from the 1970s until 2020, helping countless of the most vulnerable people in the New York City area.

While she had no immediate family when she died, she had many close friends who loved and cherished her.

Born on Feb. 10, 1943 in Albany, New York, she was the only child of Margaret Foley and James Ryan. Her grandparents were Walter Ryan and Elizabeth Stewart. Margaret's mother died when she was 13, leaving her lonely in her teenage years. She did however, look up to her stepbrother, John Ryan, who was a priest and died more than a decade ago.

Margaret went to grade school at the Academy of the Holy Names in Albany, and later, went to the Vincentian Institute High School. As a student at both schools, she was remembered as a shy, sweet girl. She met friends at school who would remain in touch with her for the rest of her life, including Dianne (Kayo) Merciers, Patty Cameron and Barbara Conway. After high school,

Margaret attended Nazareth University in Rochester, New York, where she majored in sociology. She returned to Albany to attend the College of St. Rose, where she earned her masters degree in social work.

Soon after graduation, Margaret moved to New York City where she embarked on her career as a social worker. Margaret worked tirelessly for individuals with persistent mental illness , first at a nonprofit, and later, working for Rockland Psychiatric Center from 1986 until she retired in 2020.

Margaret met her husband Milt Machlin, a writer, in the mid-1980s in the Village. The two were married in Hudson Valley soon after, and lived together in a historic apartment on Washington Square Park, which is where Margaret lived for the rest of her life.

Margaret loved living as the wife of a writer and had the pleasure of meeting and hobnobbing with the literati and other people in the arts and entertainment industries that thrived in NYC. You could find them both at the famous Lions Head or the 55 where a cast of characters imbibed. The Grove Street Stompers ended up in their living room more than once, after playing gigs down the street at Arthur's Tavern. She often told a story of Raquel Welch leaving her scarf in the apartment after a meeting with her husband Milt to discuss a project they were embarking on. The project never came to fruition, but the scarf resided in the apartment until she passed away.

Just before Milt died and for many years after his death, they opened their home to many artists and travelers. One cannot sum up the collective experience of so many guests-turned-friends who had the privilege of living in a time-capsule setting of Old New York, with Washington Square Park and the dynamism of the West Village as your front yard. While the heart of Greenwich Village pulsated outside the door, inside was Margaret sitting in her favorite spot, smoking cigarettes and drinking pinot grigio by the gallon, waiting for you to come home to talk about your life, your gossip, politics, the arts, books and everything in between. She had roommates and friends from all over the world that remained in touch until her death. Laura, Susan, Meredith, Violet, Jim, Guy, Gary, Val and Greg, Sydney, Roman, Brandon, Vincent, Mary and countless others will remember Margaret and will cherish the relationship forever. We love you Margaret.