Margaret Story,
long-time Essex resident, died peacefully at home on Thursday,
February 24, 2011.
Born in Worcester
in 1917, she lived for a time in Rhode Island, but made Essex her
home for all her adult life. She was a graduate of Pembroke College
and earned a masters degree in French literature from Columbia
University. She starting teaching at the Rufus Choate School in
Essex and moved on to the “New Essex Elementary School” before
leaving to teach French at Beverly High School. Margaret Story loved
language and words. She was a trustee of the T.O.H.P. Burnham
Library in Essex for many years. She was an avid reader and
crossword puzzle devotee, loved to quote her favorite poems and
could almost always produce the etymology of a word on request. A
true francophile, she spoke French fluently and traveled many times
to France, visiting favorite spots and queuing up for inexpensive
seats at La Comedie Francaise in Paris. She created wonderful
gardens, made beautiful quilts, liked to weave and sew, and was a
great cook. She was married for 63 years to Dana A. Story, Essex
shipbuilder and local historian, who died in 2005. She is survived
by two of her three children, Brad Story of Essex and Christine Day
of Ipswich, grandchildren Isaac Taylor of Mountain View, California,
Edith Fouser, of Ipswich, Peter Day of Burlington Vermont, Emma
Story of Brooklyn, New York, and great-grandaughter Simone Coogan
Taylor of Mountain View California. She is also survived by nephews
Robert Bishop of Attleboro, Frederick Bishop of El Valle, Panama,
and Charles Bishop of Ipswich. Her eldest son, Richard Story, and
her two brothers Charles Bishop and Robert Bishop predeceased
her.
Funeral
arrangements are private.
