Margaret S. Brummer

Margaret S. Brummer, 90, died peacefully at Good Shepherd Nursing Home in Jaffrey on Saturday, April 24, 2010,one week after suffering a stroke and exactly two months after her husband Edward passed away. She and Edward were married for 67 years.
Born in Newton, MA on August 21, 1919, Margaret was the only daughter of Douglas and Sibyl (Sanderson) Sloane. She had three athletic brothers, two older, one younger and more than a few bumps and bruises trying to keep up with them during her youth. Margaret graduated from Newtons Brimmer May School and went on to attend Beaver College in Pennsylvania and Katharine Gibbs in Boston.
In 1937, at Margarets suggestion, the Sloane family moved to Rindge, NH where she met her husband-to-be, Edward Brummer, in the fall of 1941 during a Red Cross training class. They had a whirlwind courtship that began with getting marooned overnight in Troy on their first date when returning home from a square dance in Nelson during a blizzard. She and Edward were married in April of 1942.
Margaret also married into the inn-keeping business, as Edward was the proprietor of Woodbound Inn in Rindge. They became a team where he focused on business aspects and she took great pleasure in making sure the guests were entertained. Her interest in crafts, her love of animals and her green thumb were everywhere evident. She set up a ceramic shop for kids and adults; she organized painting classes. Pets on the premises ranged from horses and donkeys to sheep, goats, chickens, ducks and dogs. Sometimes her pets antics entertained all but her husband, such as when they got loose and Rosy the piglet rooted up the putting green and Sweetheart the donkey decided to race around on the clay tennis court. Gardening and flower arrangement were a passion. She made sure fresh flowers were on the dining room tables every day and in guests rooms when they arrived.
Margarets twin sons, Jed and Jeff, were born in August 1944, just six months after her brother Sandy, a B-17 pilot, was shot down over Germany. His death prompted her parents to establish the Cathedral of the Pines located on the knoll where Sandy wanted to build his home. These events had a profound impact on Margaret and explain her dedication to community service for the rest of her life.
Margaret was a member and president of the Jaffrey Womens Club, helped found the Rindge Womens Club, and served as president of the N.H. Association of Womens Clubs. A member of the Rindge Congregational Church, she sang in the choir and always contributed to seasonal fairs and church suppers. She was famous for her lacy oatmeal cookies.
During elections, she checked in voters and then counted the ballots. In 1987, she was chairperson of We The People a Rindge Bicentennial project commemorating the signing of the Constitution. She worked hard to sustain the Jaffrey/Rindge ambulance service and was an advocate for the Visiting Nurse Association.
Margaret was a long-standing member of the Cathedral of the Pines Board of Trustees and, given her green thumb, was chair of the building and grounds committee. She spent untold hours greeting visitors to the Cathedral and working in the gift shop.
Margaret chaired the Board of Trustees of Rindges Ingalls Memorial Library and headed up the drive for a major addition to the library. She earned a diploma in library science from the University of New Hampshire that led to her being a childrens librarian and her great love of reading to elementary school students. All of these activities culminated in her being recognized as Rindges Citizen of the Year in 1997.
Important as civic activities were to Margaret, what really got her excited were sports. She delighted in weekly golf outings with the girls. Margaret believed that competition built character and never missed a chance to see her sons, daughter, grandchildren, or neighbors compete. In her later years, although sight impaired, she could feel the action at Conant High School basketball games when they won four consecutive state championships.
Margaret is survived by her three children, Jed and his wife Linda of Rindge, Jeff and his wife Katherine Walker of Jamaica Plain, Mass., and Martha and her partner Glenis Beaven of Tynemouth, England, five grandchildren, eight great-grandchildren; and numerous nieces, nephews and cousins.
The family wishes to extend its heartfelt thanks to the incredible team at the Good Shepherd Nursing Home for their compassionate and professional care.

In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made in Margarets memory to the Cathedral of the Pines or Ingalls Memorial Library.

There are no calling hours or services at this time.

A joint memorial service for Margaret and Edward will be held at the Cathedral of the Pines in Rindge, NHon August 15, 2010at 3:00 p.m.