Margaret P. Anderson, 96
Margaret Pickrel Anderson, 96, of West Bradford Township, a former president of the Chester County League of Women Voters, died of complications from cancer Saturday, Sept. 3, at home.
Margaret Pickrel Anderson, 96, of West Bradford Township, a former president of the Chester County League of Women Voters, died of complications from cancer Saturday, Sept. 3, at home.
Daughter Katherine Schmidt said in an interview that in 1995, a local chapter of the American Association of University Women gave Mrs. Anderson its outstanding woman of the year award, and in 2008, the Chester County Community Foundation gave her its Thanks for Caring award.
Born in Dayton, Ohio, Mrs. Anderson earned a bachelor's degree in English literature from Denison University in Granville, Ohio, where she was a member of Delta Delta Delta sorority.
Schmidt said Mrs. Anderson got her taste for politics as teenager, working on her father's successful campaign for Ohio lieutenant governor in 1930. He had been appointed to the post in 1928.
Before marrying in 1941, she worked as a secretary in the Marcus Hook offices of Sun Oil Co.
Her daughter said that besides being president of the Chester County League of Women Voters, Mrs. Anderson helped establish the YWCA in West Chester, and was a member of the Human Relations Council of Greater West Chester and a board member of what is now the Downingtown Area School District.
In addition to her daughter, Mrs. Anderson is survived by sons William and John; another daughter, Margaret L.; a brother; nine grandchildren; and 10 great-grandchildren. Her husband, Albert, died in 1996.
A celebration of life was set for 6 p.m. Friday, Sept. 23, at West Chester Friends Meeting, 425 N. High St. A second celebration of life was set for 11 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 24, at Romansville Friends Meeting, Shadyside and Strasburg Roads, West Bradford Township.