Margaret "Peg" Wallingford

Margaret A. (“Peg”) Wallingford answered her call to eternal peace on March 12, 2023, surrounded by her adoring family. She joins in Heaven her adored parents Dr. Arthur J. and Ann Wallingford, beloved sister Mary Vanderwarker, her cherished brother Dr. Arthur Wallingford Jr., her brother-in-law Paul Vanderwarker. Of great comfort Peg has been reunited with her many dogs who served as faithful hiking companions – a pastime she was intensely passionate about. Peg is survived by her loving brother David T. Wallingford Sr., sister-in-law Helene H. Wallingford, sister-in-law Graceann G. Wallingford, and many nieces, nephews, grandnieces, and grandnephews who will miss her deeply.

Peg was born in Albany, NY on November 15, 1934. She attended Kenwood Convent of the Sacred Heart (currently, The Doane Stuart School) before pursuing a bachelor's degree from Manhattanville College, where she majored in the Classics. After graduating from Manhattanville, Peg pursued her passion for service to God by professing her religious vows with the Society of the Sacred Heart; while simultaneously continuing her education towards a Ph.D. in the Classics at Oxford University and later, Harvard University.

After 25 years in religious service, Peg received dispensation to leave the convent to attend to her aging parents in Albany. At that time, wanting to continue service through education, Peg returned to teach English and Latin at Doane Stuart, bringing the foundation of her early education on the same campus to hundreds of students who have benefitted from her love of learning.

Peg was an avid cross-country skier and hiker and cherished the outdoors. She was into forest bathing before it was trendy, though she’d probably smirk and roll her eyes at the phrase. She helped instill in all of her nieces and nephews a love of the outdoors, introducing them to the high peaks of the Adirondacks, and teaching them how to respect and appreciate the natural world. As a child, she favored her brothers’ books, saying they contained more stories of adventure and daring challenges compared to the books written for young girls at that time.

Perhaps the only thing more valuable to Peg than spending time in nature was her love of learning. She was endlessly curious and progressive in her ideals. She had a hunger for knowledge and sharing this knowledge with others; including often strongly held opinions or the identification of obscure flora and fauna on a nature walk.

A funeral mass to celebrate Peg’s life will be held on Tuesday, March 21, 2023, at 11 a.m. in the Convent of Mercy Chapel, 634 New Scotland Ave., Albany. Relatives and friends are invited to attend. Interment will be held privately at the St. Agnes Cemetery in Menands. In lieu of flowers, those who wish may send donations to the Regional Food Bank of Northeastern New York and the Mohawk-Hudson Humane Society.

“When an old person passes away, the world loses a library of knowledge.”

                                                                                                                   - African Proverb

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