...Margaret Ann (Carman) Pustell, age 91
Margaret was born in Richmond, Virginia, May 4th, 1922, to Albert S. and Margaret (Edson) Carman. Along with her brother Bert, the family lived in several locations along the east coast, settling in Poughkeepsie, New York, where she graduated High School in 1940, class treasurer, Honor Student, and voted ‘most respected’. She then went on to graduate from Skidmore College in 1944, where she was the ‘arty art major’.
As with so many in her generation, WWII defined Margaret in many ways. During college, Margaret volunteered as an aid in a New York City hospital, and then joined the Navy in her Senior year as a WAVE. After graduation, she served as a communications officer and assistant to the commandant in the Navy Yard in Brooklyn. She quickly married her college sweetheart, Robert A. Pustell. They had a brief period of occasionally seeing each other before he shipped out to Europe as a combat Lieutenant in the infantry. They made a life and a family when he returned from Europe safe again. Once they got Robert through his college degree, Margaret and Robert contributed to the baby boom by having 5 children; Robert, James, Marie, John and Stephen.
The young family lived in assorted locations from Ohio to Massachusetts before settling in for a long term in Melrose, Massachusetts, and an even longer time in Andover, Massachusetts.
Margaret was a staunch advocate for the environment and for her community. Lending her strong art skills to any useful service.. promoting recycling and Earthday and anything her children or friends were involved in. In Melrose, she helped start the Conservation Commission and in Andover she participated in the early years of the Andover Recycling efforts often personally picking up missed recycled goods so no one would sour on the program. She worked hard on the Andover Recycling, AVIS, and the Community Paths committees.
Art was Margaret’s first love. It provided a frame work for much of her career and family and volunteer life. Margaret created accomplished pieces even before majoring in Art at Skidmore. Later, she became an expert potter, specializing in beautiful, practical pieces for home use. She continued to amass a body of work in pen and ink, water color and pastels, exhibiting in Andover Senior Center for Women’s History Month in 2009, along with other artists in her family from 1830 through her great-grandchildren.
When in Melrose, Margaret and Robert were members of the Unitarian Church. In Andover, they were members of West Parish Church.
Margaret was widowed in 2009, and is survived by her 5 children, 13 grandchildren, 6 great-grandchildren, and many cousins, nieces, nephews, and an extended family of friends and associates she has befriended and loved over her many decades.
The Memorial Service for Margaret Ann (Carman) Pustell was held on Saturday, July 6th, at West Parish Church on Reservation Road, Andover, MA, at 2:00 PM. Let us celebrate her life together: Art, Family, and Community Service.
In Lieu of flowers, the family suggests donations to either:
AMC 3 Mile Island camp (http://www.3mile.org) Via U.S. Mailboat, Laconia, NH 03246
or
AVIS Andover Village Improvement Society (http://www.avisandover.org/) P.O. Box 5097, Andover, MA 01810.
For additional information, please visit, www.burkemagliozzi.com.