Margaret Martin of Rye died at home after a brief illness on August 10, 2017. She was 81.

Margaret, known as Peggy, was born on June 19, 1936, in the Bronx, to John and Grace Conroy, and was raised there alongside her older sister Grace, younger brother John, and cousins Guy and Jimmy Moore.

She attended Smith College, from which she graduated in 1957. As a young woman, she worked at the World’s Fair in Brussels, then returned to the United States and served with various nonprofits and government offices, including Radio Free Europe and the office of Congressman John Brademas. 

In December 1966, she was appointed director of talent search for the Peace Corps, in which capacity she oversaw the Peace Corps’ efforts to recruit people to administer programs both in the United States and overseas.

In 1968, she married John S. Martin Jr. and they had four children.

Mrs. Martin returned to school to get her Master’s in Social Work at Columbia University and began a second career as a therapist and family counselor.

Her family said, “Peggy enriched the lives of all who had the privilege of knowing her. A wonderful wife, mother, and grandmother, she presided over a somewhat raucous family with wit and grace. A thoughtful listener, she was a source of wisdom and comfort to her family and friends. She cannot be replaced.”

She is survived by her loving husband John, her sister Grace, her four children, John, Kate, Meg, and Anne, and nine grandchildren.

A Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated at Church of the Resurrection on August 14.

Donations in Peggy Martin’s memory may be made to Mount Sinai Hospital (mountsinai.org) or Hour Children (hourchildren.org).