Margaret ‘Pixie’ Biddle, former travel agent and civic volunteer, dies at 72

Margaret Biddle, 72, of Wynnewood, a former travel agent, tour guide, and civic volunteer, died Thursday, March 26, at home after a long battle with ovarian cancer.

“She had a beautiful passing,” said daughter Lauren Biddle Kain. “Family members gathered, and we had a nice celebration of her life while she was still here.”

Born in Overbrook to Vincent and Agatha McDevitt, Mrs. Biddle was known to all as “Pixie.”

She graduated from the Convent of the Sacred Heart in Overbrook and later served as alumni director for the school, which became Sacred Heart Academy when it moved to Bryn Mawr.

In 1967, she graduated from George Washington University. Then she went to Paris to study at the Sorbonne, where she took courses in cooking, and the École du Louvre.

After several years abroad, Mrs. Biddle returned to Philadelphia and became a travel agent at Thomas Cook & Son. (“Don’t Just Book It, Thomas Cook It!” was the company motto in 1984.) She led tours to Egypt as part of her duties.

In 1974, she married Gardiner S. Biddle at Villanova University’s chapel. The couple had three daughters and a stepson.

Mrs. Biddle and her husband had lived apart for three decades.

Mrs. Biddle was dedicated to family and to volunteer service. In 1984, she organized the first benefit party sponsored by the Philadelphia Committee for the Homeless. The impetus came from her then-6-year-old daughter, Virginia, who was moved by the sight of a man huddling under a blanket at 23rd and Spruce Streets.

“I figured, well, this is something we should try to bring out in the open more,” Mrs. Biddle told the Daily News in May 1984. “That’s why we did all this.”

At her bidding, well-heeled patrons brought trash bags filled with food, clothing, and blankets to the First City Troop Armory. Many of the donors were well known in society circles. The $15,000 raised from ticket sales funded vans that distributed the goods to those living on the streets.

Mrs. Biddle also served on the fund-raising committee for Philadelphia’s Anti-Graffiti Network, the predecessor to Mural Arts Philadelphia.

A member of the Friends of Wistar Institute, she helped raise money in 1988 for research into AIDS and retrovirology — “a form of microbiology so new that the word is not yet in the dictionary,” wrote reporter David Iams in the Jan. 31, 1988, issue of The Inquirer.

Mrs. Biddle spent much of her adult life gardening and exhibiting at the Philadelphia Flower Show.

She supported the Community Clothes Charity, a nonprofit that raises funds for organizations benefiting women and children. She also served on the Women’s Board of the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts.

Her paid job was with the Philadelphia Society for the Preservation of Landmarks as the group’s director of Road Scholar, formerly known as Elderhostel. It is the world’s largest innovative creator of learning opportunities for seniors, said Kain.

For 25 years ending last year, Mrs. Biddle created and hosted tours for foreign visitors to Philadelphia’s historic sights, gardens, and eateries. She became friends with the travelers, as well as her Road Scholar colleagues.

“Her broad-based knowledge combined with distinctive wit, charm, style, and passion for learning made her a memorable presence,” her family said in a statement.

Mrs. Biddle was cheerful and flexible. “All who knew her will never forget her laugh and dedication to making things work regardless of the challenges,” her family said.

In addition to her daughter and former husband, she is survived by daughters Agatha and Virginia; two granddaughters; a sister; and nieces and nephews. Stepson Alexander Biddle died earlier.

Funeral services will be held later due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Charitable donations may be made to Sacred Heart Academy, 480 S. Bryn Mawr Ave., Bryn Mawr, Pa. 19010, or via https://www.shabrynmawr.org/support-sha/make-a-gift-online.