Remembering Margaret Ping
16/02/16 04:39
We married at the beginning of the summer between our junior and senior years of college. I turned 20 a week before the wedding and although I thought I was mature, there were still a lot of things that I had to learn. Just before my birthday, I moved into a tiny apartment that had been the RA apartment of a dormitory on campus. The building was no longer used as a dorm. The first floor, except for our apartment was devoted to offices of the Montana Association of Churches, the Montana Conference of the United Methodist Church and the Montana Conference of the United Church of Christ. the basement had a meeting room where a new Presbyterian Church met on Sundays. The second floor had bedrooms that could be used for conferences. There was a fair amount of janitorial services needed in the building and we arranged to trade those services for the apartment for the school year. Our landlady and boss was the director of adult education/continuing education programs of the college, Margaret Ping.
We knew Margaret from church and she was a friend of both sets of our parents. Susan had known Margaret from her childhood, when Margaret had led the “Adventure Club” at her church. She was well known in the community for a wide variety of projects and programs. She was in her early sixties and recently retired from nearly 40 years working for the YWCA all across the United States and in Mexico and Peru. She had wonderful stories of her travels and was a delight when our busy lives afforded a few minutes to visit.
Nearly every weekend she drove the 50 miles to Hardin where she grew up and where her father was living. He was in his nineties and still in reasonably good health. She must have told him a little bit about the young couple living in here building because he started to send groceries our way. Towards the end of the summer we received some delicious cherries. Later in the fall there were apples. Many Mondays there’d be some small treat from either Margaret or her father.
The year sped by, we received our acceptance letters to graduate school in Chicago, graduated from college and went on with our lives. Margaret continued to be very interested in what was going on with us and trips home to Montana often included an opportunity to visit with her. She helped establish Global Village, a nonprofit Fair Trade organization dedicated to the support of low income artisans and farmers. The organization is much more than a retail store, it is also a place with a lot of educational activities teaching cultural appreciation, tolerance and understanding.
During our years in Boise, Margaret and I often touched base regarding Habitat for Humanity. We were both involved in establishing Habitat Affiliates in our community and Margaret was full of really good ideas about how to keep the organization growing and building.
A few years ago she made a trip to Rapid City and came to worship with our congregation and visit us. She was pleased with our church and, of course, asked about Habitat for Humanity and our involvement in that organization. Our congregation was active in building a duplex at the time, so it was fun to share with her some of our Habitat for Humanity stories. She was in her late 90’s at the time and still as active and engaged in life as ever. Buy then she had quit driving and told us that she had to arrange around a dozen rides each week to keep up with all of her organizations and volunteer activities.
We were recipients of her generosity, and it amazes me to think how many other people have benefitted from her graciousness and generosity over the years.
In May of 2013, the Billings Gazette Newspaper published an article about Margaret on the occasion of her 100th birthday. Two things remain with me from that article: First of all, she made a conscious decision, at the age of 21, in 1933, at the height of the Great Depression, to dedicate her life to serving others. That meant that it was not only her 100th birthday, but also the 80th anniversary of her life of service to others. The second thing I remember about that article was her advice to the rest of us: “Don’t stop.”
She took here own advice.
Margaret died on Saturday, a few months shy of her 104th birthday. She had been having some health difficulties since November, but there were plenty who didn’t know about them. She made it to church every Sunday. She made a visit to the Big Horn County Historical Society in her home town on February 4, She continued to volunteer at the Museum every Wednesday until the last few weeks of her life. Thursday was Habitat for Humanity Day, where she volunteered through January.
Her memorial service, this coming Saturday, will draw too many people to fit in the sanctuary of her church - the church where we were married. The service will are held in the larger sanctuary of 1st Congregational United Church of Christ in Billings. I have no doubt that it will be packed for the occasion.
The list of awards that Margaret received is far too long to list here, but a couple bear mention. She was the second recipient of the Jeannette Rankin Peace Award and I have always suspected that she or one of her friends nominated my mother for the award which she received a few years later. Margaret was awarded the YWCA Meritorious Service Award, an honor that everyone agreed couldn’t have ben made to a more worthy recipient.
When I received the news of her death, my first reaction was to say, “She certainly got it right! What a life!”
This spring, it will be 38 years since I graduated from seminary and began serving as pastor of a church. Some days I feel a little tired. Sometimes it seems like I’ve been doing this a long time. But I’ve got a ways to go, yet. After all, it will take another 45 years before I catch up with Margaret. I won’t forget her advice: “Don’t stop.”
For the rest of my life I will need no other sign of the presence of our Good and Gracious God than the memories of Margaret Ping. She got it right.
We knew Margaret from church and she was a friend of both sets of our parents. Susan had known Margaret from her childhood, when Margaret had led the “Adventure Club” at her church. She was well known in the community for a wide variety of projects and programs. She was in her early sixties and recently retired from nearly 40 years working for the YWCA all across the United States and in Mexico and Peru. She had wonderful stories of her travels and was a delight when our busy lives afforded a few minutes to visit.
Nearly every weekend she drove the 50 miles to Hardin where she grew up and where her father was living. He was in his nineties and still in reasonably good health. She must have told him a little bit about the young couple living in here building because he started to send groceries our way. Towards the end of the summer we received some delicious cherries. Later in the fall there were apples. Many Mondays there’d be some small treat from either Margaret or her father.
The year sped by, we received our acceptance letters to graduate school in Chicago, graduated from college and went on with our lives. Margaret continued to be very interested in what was going on with us and trips home to Montana often included an opportunity to visit with her. She helped establish Global Village, a nonprofit Fair Trade organization dedicated to the support of low income artisans and farmers. The organization is much more than a retail store, it is also a place with a lot of educational activities teaching cultural appreciation, tolerance and understanding.
During our years in Boise, Margaret and I often touched base regarding Habitat for Humanity. We were both involved in establishing Habitat Affiliates in our community and Margaret was full of really good ideas about how to keep the organization growing and building.
A few years ago she made a trip to Rapid City and came to worship with our congregation and visit us. She was pleased with our church and, of course, asked about Habitat for Humanity and our involvement in that organization. Our congregation was active in building a duplex at the time, so it was fun to share with her some of our Habitat for Humanity stories. She was in her late 90’s at the time and still as active and engaged in life as ever. Buy then she had quit driving and told us that she had to arrange around a dozen rides each week to keep up with all of her organizations and volunteer activities.
We were recipients of her generosity, and it amazes me to think how many other people have benefitted from her graciousness and generosity over the years.
In May of 2013, the Billings Gazette Newspaper published an article about Margaret on the occasion of her 100th birthday. Two things remain with me from that article: First of all, she made a conscious decision, at the age of 21, in 1933, at the height of the Great Depression, to dedicate her life to serving others. That meant that it was not only her 100th birthday, but also the 80th anniversary of her life of service to others. The second thing I remember about that article was her advice to the rest of us: “Don’t stop.”
She took here own advice.
Margaret died on Saturday, a few months shy of her 104th birthday. She had been having some health difficulties since November, but there were plenty who didn’t know about them. She made it to church every Sunday. She made a visit to the Big Horn County Historical Society in her home town on February 4, She continued to volunteer at the Museum every Wednesday until the last few weeks of her life. Thursday was Habitat for Humanity Day, where she volunteered through January.
Her memorial service, this coming Saturday, will draw too many people to fit in the sanctuary of her church - the church where we were married. The service will are held in the larger sanctuary of 1st Congregational United Church of Christ in Billings. I have no doubt that it will be packed for the occasion.
The list of awards that Margaret received is far too long to list here, but a couple bear mention. She was the second recipient of the Jeannette Rankin Peace Award and I have always suspected that she or one of her friends nominated my mother for the award which she received a few years later. Margaret was awarded the YWCA Meritorious Service Award, an honor that everyone agreed couldn’t have ben made to a more worthy recipient.
When I received the news of her death, my first reaction was to say, “She certainly got it right! What a life!”
This spring, it will be 38 years since I graduated from seminary and began serving as pastor of a church. Some days I feel a little tired. Sometimes it seems like I’ve been doing this a long time. But I’ve got a ways to go, yet. After all, it will take another 45 years before I catch up with Margaret. I won’t forget her advice: “Don’t stop.”
For the rest of my life I will need no other sign of the presence of our Good and Gracious God than the memories of Margaret Ping. She got it right.