Obituary of Margaret D. Slocum

Margaret Domenica Slocum, 92, of Melrose, MA, passed away peacefully at home surrounded by her family on August 5, 2019.

A private Mass of Intention will be held at the Most Blessed Sacrament Church in Wakefield, MA.

Margaret was born in Medford, MA to Mary Beninati Piscatello and Santo Piscatello on December 10, 1926. She graduated from Medford High School in 1944. While working at General Electric she met her soon-to-be husband, Edward Slocum.

She loved working, especially the many years she spent waitressing in the hotels and private clubs of downtown Boston before her retirement at age 82. A passionate reader, Margaret spent countless hours at the Melrose Public Library. She could not bear to be without a book. Everyone raved about Margaret’s amazing cooking—no need for recipes, always delicious and healthy. Her healthy cooking, however, never prevented her from enjoying her favorite indulgence, a tasty doughnut.

When she was not working, Margaret enjoyed trips to Falmouth, Cape Cod, Boothbay Harbor, Florida, and New Hampshire. At age 90 in Lincoln, NH, she and her husband Ed danced the night away on New Year’s Eve, closing the place down as the last couple standing. Her travels took her to distant places as well.  Margaret made her first trip to Europe at age 74, to Ireland, for her son Robert’s wedding.  Over the next decade she returned to visit Edinburgh, Prague, Venice, Trieste, Budapest and Vienna.

Above all, however, she loved her family and her home. She considered her family and home to be her greatest accomplishments. Her intuitiveness and understanding of people were remarkable. She would know things before you knew them, always knew the right thing to say and do, and was the person you would go to when you needed comfort, wisdom or advice, or simply someone to listen to you and hold your hand. Even in her final days, she was still comforting her family and friends, nurturing until the end, making it clear that she was so proud of her family and happy that everyone was around her. She never stopped making everyone laugh with her humor and zest for life. Her family felt blessed by the opportunity to care for her, surround her with love, and make her happy until her final moments, full of gratitude for all that she had given.

Margaret is survived by her loving husband of sixty years, Edward C. Slocum of Melrose, MA, her devoted children Maryann MacNeil and her partner Don Aubert of Amesbury, MA, Nancy Slocum and her spouse Mary Ann Lanier of Somerville, MA, Robert E. Slocum and his wife Lorraine of Newburyport, MA, as well as Michael MacNeil of Quincy, MA. She was a loving grandmother to 6 grandchildren including Brian MacNeil of Reading, MA, Sean MacNeil of Brooklyn, NY, Matthew MacNeil of Sacramento, CA, and Christopher MacNeil of Berkeley, CA. She is also survived by Edward’s dear  sister Joan and her husband James Leaman of Cambridge.  Other survivors include many beloved nieces, nephews, cousins, and countless friends. She was preceded in death by her brothers Victor, Tory, and Joe, and, her sisters Rita, Angela, Gloria and Constance.

Memorial donations may be made in her name to The Friends of the Melrose Public Library, the American Lung Association, or St. Jude’s Hospital.

Margaret, Mom, Grammy, words cannot express how much we love you and how much we will miss you.  Your love, strength and wisdom will be with us and in our hearts each and every day.