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Margaret V. Consiglio passed away comfortably at home on Friday, April 1st, 2022 after a full and faithful life.
Margaret graduated from Christ Our King, Ursuline Academy, the University of Delaware, and Widener University, where she earned an MBA. A lover of learning, she was always a student, most recently at the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at the University of Delaware in Wilmington.
As a young adult, Margaret entered the convent as a cloistered member of the Ursulines, but as silence and obedience were not suited to her temperament, she returned to Wilmington, began her career, fell in love, and started a family.
Margaret made a career of helping people as a teacher and development director. She taught at Christ Our King School, Ursuline Academy, St. Edmond's Academy, St. Peter’s Cathedral School, and Goldey-Beacom College, and spent several decades as Development Director for Catholic Charities, Ursuline Academy, and Padua Academy. She enjoyed many lifelong friendships with her students, including many “Kingers”, who used to gather at “Mrs. C.’s” house to hang out and play Pong.
Margaret sang for 60 years in the St. Peter’s Cathedral Choir where she met Carmen Consiglio, the choir director and love of her life. They enjoyed 39 years of marriage before Carmen’s death in 2003. It was through the choir and the Academy of Lifelong Learning that she met Bert Damron, whom she later married. They spent the last 11 years of their lives together. Margaret was grateful to have spent 50 years married to two very good men.
As a mother, a grandmother, and great grandmother, she enjoyed family gatherings, driving kids to practices and lessons, taking the college aged kids out to dinner, and an occasional limo ride to The Melting Pot. A dedicated Dollar Store shopper, she gave each child an allowance and enjoyed watching them express their personalities as they saved or spent their funds.
Margaret loved music and writing. She played piano and flute and sang in the Delaware Women’s Chorus. She loved telling stories, and honed her craft writing essays and fiction. She loved diagraming a good sentence.
Above all, Margaret loved people. When first widowed, she formed the Holy Huggers, a group of friends from church who offered hugs to anyone who needed one. When asked what she was most proud of, she said her family and all of the people she was able to help. She considered her ability to serve a blessing, and she reminded her family to love and be grateful. She ended each day in prayer, thanking God for each member of her family by name.
Margaret is preceded in death by her parents, Joseph A. Vogel and Ruth Wolf Vogel, husbands Carmen and Bert, and siblings, Joseph Vogel, John Vogel, and Ginger (Hagerty) Lauk. She is survived by her sisters Christine Baker (Edward) of Wilmington, Loretta Murphy (Brian) or Wilmington, and Cathy Crusco (John) of Dover.
Margaret is also survived by her children; Loretta Consiglio-Ward (Patrick) of Wilmington, David Consiglio (Jill Liebling) of Garnett Valley, Joseph Consiglio (Susan Howe) of Media, and Michael Consiglio (Christine) of Camp Hill, grandchildren; Julieta Kang (Deeben), Rachel, Kelly, and Charlotte Ward, Naomi, and Leah Consiglio, Joseph, Elizabeth, and Margaret Howe-Consiglio, Michael, Matthew, and Julia Consiglio, great grandchildren; Ellie, Brandon, Jackson, and Ace Kang, and many nieces, nephews, and other members of the Vogel, Consiglio, Damron, and Dennis families.
The family will accept friends and guests on Thursday April 7, 2022 from 6pm-8pm at the Doherty Funeral Home located at 3200 Limestone Road, Wilmington DE. A Mass of Christian Burial will be held on Friday April 8, 2022 at 9am at the Cathedral of Saint Peter located at 500 N. West Street, Wilmington DE. Entombment will immediately follow at Cathedral Cemetery.
The family would like to thank Delaware Hospice, Janice and Friends, and the Abramson Cancer Center at the University of Pennsylvania, especially Dr. Kevin Fox, for their loving care.
Contributions can be made in her honor to St. Peter’s Cathedral and the American Cancer Society.
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