Margaret Bain Long

LONG, Margaret Bain – At the age of 95, died in Guelph, Ontario, on March 20, 2011. In many ways she was a woman of her times and also, in her quiet way, ahead of her time.She was born, the elder of two children, to Benjamin G. Bain and Mary C. Bain, on Aug.29, 1915 in Woodhaven, N.Y. “Peggy,” as she was known, attended Skidmore College. She married her high school sweetheart, Robert Eli Long, in 1936. Bob Long received his B.A. and Ph.D. from Yale University. Two daughters, Jean Elinor and Judith Alyn were born to the couple in New Haven. After Bob and Peggy moved to Burlington, Vermont, two more children were born: Jill Margaret in 1943 and James Robert in 1946. Peggy had a full time job as a faculty wife and mother of four. In addition, Peggy took many foster children into her home over a period of many years. The family moved to Washington, D.C. and later to Paris, France. They returned to the U.S. when Bob became president of Park College, near Kansas City. Subsequently Bob served as president of Lyndon State College in Lyndonville, Vermont. Peggy had a public role as the college president's wife. She was a loyal wife to a public figure with conservative politics. But she was always deeply concerned with the rights and wellbeing of her fellow Americans. Even in her youth: when Marian Anderson was denied the right to sing in Constitution Hall, Peggy resigned from the Daughters of the American Revolution. She was a lifelong supporter of Margaret Sanger's work. In later years she demonstrated against the Vietnam war, and even voted for John F. Kennedy, abandoning generations of Republican Bains and one Long by this act. Peggy was a strict mother, instilling in her children the values of hard work, respect for others and good manners. All of her children have continued Peggy's example of service to others. In her “retirement” years, Peggy lived in Bucksport, Maine, near her daughter Jill, and more recently in Guelph, Ontario, with her daughter Jean. Peggy leaves behind her four children: Jean, Judy (Dan Tapper), Jill and Jim (Thelma R. Long). Twenty-one great grandchildren and six great-great grandchildren fill out the family. Margaret Bain Long will be remembered with honor.

A Memorial Service will be held at a later date.