Margaret
Margaret Williams Silva
d. November 26, 2015
Margaret Byrd Williams Silva, 80, accomplished gardener and dedicated mother and grandmother, passed away on Thanksgiving evening, 26 November, 2015.
Margo was a creative and talented woman who spent a lifetime teaching others the things that mattered to her most - gardening, art and nature. She spent countless hours leading nature walks with her children and many of their friends, and indulged in many a spontaneous trip antiquing, to museums and historical societies, or to gardens and gardening centers. She was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, raised mainly in Birmingham, Michigan and Toronto, Ontario, Canada, where her father was president of Procter & Gamble of Canada. She was a graduate of Smith College where she studied Art History. While at Smith, she met Peter New at Amherst College, and afterward married and raised three sons - Robert, William and Patrick New - in Gloucester, Massachusetts, where Dr. New had his medical practice, before divorcing in 1978. She later married the late William Millar, and together they shared a devotion to upgrading a 1920s house on the harbor in Salem, Mass., where they also kept a boat and took trips up and down the New England seacoast. She leaves many Millar family members in New England. In Salem, Margo was a leading real estate broker for some years before becoming involved full time in perhaps her best-loved activity, Tuckaway Gardens, her boutique seaside perennial gardening design business, which catered to many fine homes in neighboring Marblehead and around the North Shore. There, she also wrote and illustrated a book on perennial gardening, and was involved with the Peabody Museum of Salem and the Harvard University Arnold Arboretum.
Margo moved to Albuquerque, New Mexico in August of 2000 to be nearer her children, where she met and married Narsiso Silva, a lifelong New Mexico resident with a love for woodworking and refinishing homes. She quickly fell in love with the high desert blue sky, bright sun, mountains and Spanish style. In Albuquerque, Margo became an authorized Master Gardener and also had a small but highly active and beautiful garden.
She is survived by her husband, Narsiso Silva; her son, Bob New and his wife, Sara and their daughter, Emmeline, her son, Bill New and his wife, Darla and their son, Alexander; and her grandchildren, Harry New, Sadie New and Jasper New. She also leaves her nephews, Michael Muse and his family and Edward Muse; and many other relatives around the country. She was preceded in death by her parents, William and Margaret Williams; her son, Patrick; and her sister, Anne Muse.
Memorial contributions may be made to the Rio Grande Nature Center in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
Margo was a creative and talented woman who spent a lifetime teaching others the things that mattered to her most - gardening, art and nature. She spent countless hours leading nature walks with her children and many of their friends, and indulged in many a spontaneous trip antiquing, to museums and historical societies, or to gardens and gardening centers. She was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, raised mainly in Birmingham, Michigan and Toronto, Ontario, Canada, where her father was president of Procter & Gamble of Canada. She was a graduate of Smith College where she studied Art History. While at Smith, she met Peter New at Amherst College, and afterward married and raised three sons - Robert, William and Patrick New - in Gloucester, Massachusetts, where Dr. New had his medical practice, before divorcing in 1978. She later married the late William Millar, and together they shared a devotion to upgrading a 1920s house on the harbor in Salem, Mass., where they also kept a boat and took trips up and down the New England seacoast. She leaves many Millar family members in New England. In Salem, Margo was a leading real estate broker for some years before becoming involved full time in perhaps her best-loved activity, Tuckaway Gardens, her boutique seaside perennial gardening design business, which catered to many fine homes in neighboring Marblehead and around the North Shore. There, she also wrote and illustrated a book on perennial gardening, and was involved with the Peabody Museum of Salem and the Harvard University Arnold Arboretum.
Margo moved to Albuquerque, New Mexico in August of 2000 to be nearer her children, where she met and married Narsiso Silva, a lifelong New Mexico resident with a love for woodworking and refinishing homes. She quickly fell in love with the high desert blue sky, bright sun, mountains and Spanish style. In Albuquerque, Margo became an authorized Master Gardener and also had a small but highly active and beautiful garden.
She is survived by her husband, Narsiso Silva; her son, Bob New and his wife, Sara and their daughter, Emmeline, her son, Bill New and his wife, Darla and their son, Alexander; and her grandchildren, Harry New, Sadie New and Jasper New. She also leaves her nephews, Michael Muse and his family and Edward Muse; and many other relatives around the country. She was preceded in death by her parents, William and Margaret Williams; her son, Patrick; and her sister, Anne Muse.
Memorial contributions may be made to the Rio Grande Nature Center in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
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