Margaret Isabelle Watt, age 85, passed away on July 7, 2021. Margaret was born September 29, 1935, the daughter of Jesse and Andrew Johnstone. She was born and grew up in Greenwich, Connecticut. Her father’s love of orchids and his green thumb lived on in Margaret who maintained an amazing small garden in her New York City apartment and more recently at the Willow Gardens. Her mother’s talent as an artist and a fine baker also carried on in Margaret who was an accomplished chef herself and a master of many cuisines.
After graduating from Greenwich High School, Margaret attended Massachusetts General Hospital School of Nursing in Boston. In the late 1950s, she then moved to New York City where she worked as a nurse at Memorial Sloan Kettering and where she met her husband John H. Watt, Sr. while ice skating in Central Park. They were married and settled in Allendale, New Jersey where they raised their family.
Margaret is predeceased by her husband of 46 years, John H. Watt, Sr., and her two brothers, Robert and James Johnstone. She is survived by her four children, John H. Watt, Jr. (Marcia), Jennifer A. Watt, Andrew R. Watt (Tomya), and R. Cameron Watt (Krista), and her grandchildren, Parker, John, Harrison, Cooper, Griffin, Kelsey and Gavin Watt and step-grandchildren, Drake and Symone Ryans.
Margaret traveled extensively around the world with her husband and later by herself, including trips to the Middle East, Southeast Asia and India, as well as many visits to England and Scotland. She had her first adventure as a young girl when she flew to Scotland by herself to visit relatives, and was delayed by several days after the plane landed in Newfoundland to refuel and was grounded because of bad weather. Later in life, she continued her adventures, sailing with the whole family in the British Virgin Islands, attending a cooking school in Thailand to celebrate her 60th birthday, riding an elephant in India, and taking trips to the Hebrides and Shetland.
Margaret was an avid and life long lover of reading and a talented knitter. She was also an active community volunteer undertaking a variety of projects, including mentoring new mothers at Bellevue Hospital.
Her family would like to thank the staff at Willow Gardens in New Rochelle, New York for providing wonderful care for Margaret under adverse circumstances during the pandemic.
A funeral service will be held at 10:00 am on Friday July 16, 2021 at Stanwich Church, 202 Taconic Road, Greenwich, Connecticut 06831, with burial immediately following the service at Long Ridge Union Cemetery in Stamford, Connecticut. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to The Friends of the Lee Memorial Library, 500 West Crescent Avenue, Allendale, NJ 07401, or to Willow Gardens Memory Care, c/o Sallie Carlin, 60 Willow Drive, New Rochelle, NY 10805.
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