Obituary of Margaret Wilde Houston

Margaret Fowles Wilde Houston Teacher, Social Worker, Realtor and Community Activist, 98 Margaret Fowles Wilde Houston, 98, of Belfast Maine, died on Sunday, October 11, 2009 at Waldo County General Hospital, Belfast, Maine. Family and friends are invited to gather at the Penobscot Shores Ocean House Library, 10 Shoreland Drive, Belfast, at 11:00 am on Thursday, October 15, 2009 for a celebration of Margaret’s life. A second celebration will be held in June, 2010 on what would have been Margaret’s 99th birthday. Margaret, the eldest of three children, was born in Belfast, Maine at the Virgil Hall Farm on June 13, 1911 to Elmer and Annie Belle Elms Fowles. She attended the Pitcher School. In her teens, having moved to Waldo Avenue with her family, she was a member of the first graduating class at the brand-new Crosby High School. Margaret attended the University of Maine, as did her younger sister Rachel Tibbetts. Her brother Virgil owned Fowles’ Corner Store and served on Belfast City Council in the 1950s. Virgil Fowles Sr. passed away in 1997. Margaret taught high school in Lisbon Falls after graduating from the University of Maine in 1932 with a master’s degree focused on Canadian and Maine history. In 1936 she married Herman E. Wilde, a chemist at Worumbo Mills along the Androscoggin River in Lisbon Falls, ME. In 1941, they settled in New Jersey with two sons where Herman worked for Merck Chemical Company. Their daughter and third son were born in New Jersey. While working at Merck, Herman received several patents. He later established his own company, specializing in Bacteria Fabric Treatment. Herman passed away in 1984. Margaret returned to the Penobscot Shores Community in 1999 with her second husband Ralph Houston, whom she married in 1988. Ralph passed away in 2000. Her life has been filled with community activities and organizational contributions. Along with her husband Herman, she was a founding member of the Diamond Hill United Methodist Church in Berkeley Heights, NJ. She has been a member of the First Congregational Church of Westfield, NJ for 60 years. While her children were enrolled in the public school system, she was elected to local and county Parent-Teacher Association offices. She turned to further education and earned a second Masters degree in Social Work at Rutgers the State University of NJ, a field to which she became committed for two decades starting in the turbulent 1960s. She worked for social service organizations in Newark and Elizabeth, NJ during the Newark riots. Following her social work career, she received a NJ realtor’s license and sold real estate for nearly 10 years. Margaret resettled in her hometown of Belfast in 1999 and has enjoyed finding many connections to her past still there. She served on the Penobscot Shores Board for several years and was active in the University of Maine Alumni Association. In 2007, as a supporter of the Belfast Foot Bridge Fund, she donated a plaque at lamp post number 10 in memory of her parents. She was present when the original bridge was dedicated in 1921 to carry US Route 1 traffic across the Passagassawakeag River. Margaret is survived by her children, Herman E. Wilde IV (Partner Dawn Liberman) of Albuquerque, NM, William F. Wilde (wife Ruth) of Millbury, MA, Margaret C Jiuliano (husband Joseph) of Branchburg, NJ, and David E. Wilde (wife Susan) of Bernards Township, NJ, sister, Rachel Tibbetts of Ocala, FL, and a special nephew and friend, Virgil Fowles Jr. of Brooks, ME. Also surviving are many grandchildren, great & great great grandchildren, as well as other nephews and nieces. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to the University of Maine Class of 1932 Winthrop C. Libby Scholarship Fund, University of Maine Alumni Association, One Alumni Place,Orono, ME 04469 or Maine Public Television at 1-800-884-1717.