Margaret Mary Cahill

Margaret Mary Cahill (Peggy), of Lake Forest, California peacefully departed this life on February 4, 2018.  She was born in Chelmsford, Massachusetts, and she was the youngest of four sisters.  Peggy married Joseph Webber in 1947 and they settled in Delaware.  Her husband was a carpenter who had returned from heroic combat service in World War II as a U.S. Marine, and he suffered severe PTSD, something that was not well understood or treated in that era.  They had four children together before his illness took a toll on their marriage, and Peggy and the children migrated to California in 1962.

Peggy entered the workforce and was employed in the aerospace industry for over 30 years, raising all of her children to successful lives and careers as a pioneer single mom.  Always a joyful, outgoing person, Peggy was an early adapter to the concept of ocean cruising, starting on the original “Love Boat,” and completing a log of more that 50 cruises with family and friends throughout the world.  Along the way, the title of “Cruise Queen” was bestowed on Peggy.

Peggy was a longtime member of the Questors; a proud member of the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR); she enjoyed knitting sweaters for her many grandchildren; she baked tons of exquisite chocolate chip cookies, and she established the “pink cake” as the family standard for birthdays.  She was an avid doll collector, and relished a long association with the area doll club.

Peggy is a legend, she will be sorely missed, and her smile and the twinkle in her eye will be forever remembered.  She loved a margarita or a glass of wine; she was always ready for a toast and to tell a good story from her youth (and there were many – some for adult ears only).  She loved us all, and taught us how to be a family – to hang in there no matter what.  There is nothing more important than God in heaven and family on earth.  Peggy had a full and happy life and she will be fondly remembered by her extensive family and the many friends she knew over nearly 90 years of life on earth. 

Peggy was preceded in death by her daughter, Sally Ann Lawler, her parents, John and Margaret Cahill of Massachusetts, her sisters, Joan Morris, Dorothy Mahan, and Geraldine Sullivan, her former husband, Joseph Webber of Delaware, and her second husband, Joseph Hughes of California.

Peggy is survived by three of her children:  Barbara Finley of Lake Forest, Margaret McCahill (James) of San Diego, and Joseph Webber, II (Karen) of Montgomery, Texas.  She is also survived by eleven grandchildren and 17 great-grandchildren.  Godspeed Cruise Queen. Enjoy smooth seas and the wind at your back.

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