LACONIA---Margot Charlotte Thomas, 86, of Laconia, passed away on Thursday, October 14, 2021, peacefully in her sleep at the Taylor Community.
Margot was born on January 27, 1935, in Stuttgart, Germany, and grew up in nearby Heidelberg with her parents Fritz and Else Hamberger, and younger brother, Walter, where her family owned a butcher shop. After graduating high school at 16, she moved to Sussex, England to work as an au pair. She later returned to England to work at Seaford College in Sussex after graduating in 1955 from the Fritz Gabler School in Heidelberg, where she studied restaurant and hotel management. She next “wanted to see what the U.S. was like,” and after a brief stint as an au pair in Edinburgh waiting for her visa, she traveled to the United States in 1959 where she worked at the St. Moritz Hotel in New York City and the St. Francis Hotel in San Francisco. She eventually moved to Laconia, NH, where a cousin resided, first working at the Laconia Tavern and then at the Windmill Restaurant, where she met her future husband, Duane Thomas. Instead of returning to Germany as originally planned, she married Duane in 1962. Margot and Duane ran the Windmill, where she was famous far and wide for her pastries and breads, until they both retired in 1979. Never one to sit still, after “retiring” she took a part time job baking her delicious breads and desserts at the St. Francis Nursing Home. Margot and Duane moved to Beverly Hills, FL, in 1986, where they enjoyed the sun and warm winters. After Duane’s death in 1993, Margot resided in Beverly Hills until 2014, when she moved home to Laconia to be closer to family.
Margot loved the lakes, mountains, and seashore, and she and Duane enjoyed sailing on Lake Winnipesaukee and motorcycling around New England, and later the southeast. She also was an avid knitter, loved opera music, and cooked delicious German meals for her family.
Margot was a warm and generous mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, and friend. Right up until she passed, she had an amazing memory, a great sense of humor and contagious laugh, and never forgot a birthday. She had too many friends in Germany, England, and the U.S. to count, and when she made a friend, whether on a plane, train, or even in a department store, she kept them for life. Aside from her family and friends, her love in life was baking her many breads, pies, cakes, and tortes. Her sweet rolls, Christmas stolen, and Florentine cookies were legendary. She was always hosting get-togethers with her many friends, baking up a storm. Her biggest regret in getting older was her inability to keep baking—though she continued to give everyone her recipes and plenty of baking advice!
Margot is survived by her daughter, Heidi Thomas and her husband James Kennell of Vienna, VA, and Gilford, NH; her son, Walter Thomas and his wife Inge of Londonderry, NH; her step-daughters, Suzanne Lee and her husband Terry, and Janet Carroll and her husband James, all of Laconia; her grandchildren, Christina Carroll, Michael Carroll and his wife Reina, Tamara Carroll, Joshua Carroll and his wife Laura, Derek Thomas and his wife Tara, Richard F. Thomas, Brittany, Henry, and Charles Kennell, and Lianna Lee and her husband Geoff Griffiths; great-grandchildren Lexi Wilhelm, Dalyn Alexander, Bostyn Carroll, Nolan Carroll, Lilly and Tyler Graffeo, Richard D. Thomas, Kallan and Kora Bay Carroll, and Isla and Jack Carroll; and sister-in-law, Gisela Hamberger, and nephews, Stefan and Holger Hamberger and their families, all of Aachen, Germany. In addition to her husband, Duane, she was predeceased by her brother, parents, and sister-in-law, Betty Stevens.
The family wishes to thank the staff at The Taylor Community for their wonderful and loving care of Margot these past five years. She thought of you all as family.
A Memorial Service to celebrate Margot’s life will be held at 2:00 pm on Saturday, November 13, 2021, in the Carriage House, at Wilkinson-Beane-Simoneau-Paquette Funeral Home, 164 Pleasant Street, Laconia, NH, 03246.
For those who are unable to attend, the family welcomes you to join the Memorial Service through Zoom at: Margot Thomas Memorial
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in her memory to the Sunshine Fund, Taylor Community, 435 Union Avenue, Laconia, NH 03246.
Wilkinson-Beane-Simoneau-Paquette Funeral Home & Cremation Services and 603Cremations.com, Laconia, NH, is assisting the family with arrangements. For more information and to view an online memorial, please visit www.wilkinsonbeane.com.