Margaret A. Vinci

Margaret Vinci was born in New York City on April 14, 1912, the night the Titanic sunk. She was the oldest of a family of nine children, three died when they were babies, so she grew up with four brothers and one sister. In their neighborhood in New York, they grew up with families from Poland, Italy, Ireland and Germany. She remembered the neighborhood where all of them grew up. She used to say, "It was a wonderful way of growing up, and different from the way it is today.”

Tragedy hit when Margaret was 17 years old. Her father (a builder) suffered from a torn artery in his heart from heavy lifting, and died at age 50. The oldest of 6 children she embraced her younger brothers, (the youngest brother was only 4 years old) and sister. She felt a sense of responsibility for them because they had lost their father. She dropped out of high school during the day and immediately got a job to help support the family. She continued her schooling at night to finish her high school diploma.

As a young adult, she worked for a French Designer, Germaine Monteil during the depression where she helped design seasonal fashion shows that were attended by the celebrities such as Joan Crawford, Mae West and many others.

In 1937, a significant change occurred in her life. It was there she met the love of her life, Carlo Vinciguerra at a dance. Carlo was an artist and an animator working for a cartoon studio in New Rochelle, New York.

After 15 years in the industry Carlo received a call from Joe Barbera to work for MGM Studios in California. It was a dream come true and she and her husband moved to California.

In 1986, Margaret and Carlo moved to Thousand Oaks to enjoy retirement and be near three of their four children.

In September 1989, they celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary with family and friends. The four children and spouses put together a wonderful celebration. In 1993, Carlo (her beloved husband) passed away after 54 years of a wonderful marriage.

As a former seamstress with a love of fabric and design, she became interested in quilting. She made magnificent quilts for all members of her family and close friends. In addition, she crotched and knitted making beautiful blankets that she gave to people until the end of her life. She continued her activities with the church, and was a Eucharistic minister for 20 years. She leaves behind three children, 11 grandchildren, and 22 great grandchildren and two great great grandchildren.