Margaret Amara
June 26, 1923 March 6, 2018
Margaret Frances (Terestre) Amara passed away peacefully on March 6, 2018 at 94. She came from humble beginnings born into an Italian immigrant family. Initially she lived with her parents and 5 siblings on a 10-acre farm in Lexington, MA after which the family moved to Waltham, MA in 1924, where Margaret spent most of her adolescent life. After high school, Margaret attended the deBenedictis School of Art in Boston where she excelled and Boston University (during WWII) while working parttime. On July 17, 1949, she married Rosario (Roy) Amara and shortly thereafter the Amaras moved to the west coast.
Margaret worked briefly after moving to California though her primary focus for many years was in raising three “remarkable wonderful” children, Mark, Dirk, and Christine who turned out to be her success stories and reflections of their upbringing. As a mother, Margaret stressed the value of education and sought the best for each of her kids. Both parents were great role models. Margaret had a whimsical side which included wearing funny hats or creating and reciting poetry; she loved chocolate and liberal doses of pie or ice cream. Her artistic and musical interests and skills were vividly displayed in the art she hung and music she played. Phrases she used often included: Be the Pride, Get Out, For Pete’s Sake and Gadzooks all with their own meanings.
While the children were still young, Margaret worked on and received her Bachelor of Arts in History from San Jose State University where she was in the Phi Kappa Phi Honor Society and then in 1975 received her Master of Arts in Library Science from San Jose State University and was elected to the Beta Phi Mu Honor Society. After college, she worked for the San Mateo County Office of Education researching school curriculums and recommending improvements. One of her greatest pleasures was in working as the Head Librarian at the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences Library at Stanford University for 17 years.
After retiring, she put in regular hours volunteering as a Docent and Catalog Librarian at Filoli Gardens, as an enthusiastic Treasure Market advocate and helper, as the go-to representative at the Information Desk at Cantor Art Center, Stanford, and on various committees at The Sequoias, Portola Valley. Margaret was a member of ALA (American Library Association), AAUW (American Association of University Women), supporter of the San Mateo County Historical Society, San Francisco Symphony, SF Fine Arts Museum and member of the two honor societies. Her interests included music, art, reading, children’s literature, libraries, and sports, especially swimming, tennis, hiking and cross-country skiing.
Margaret is survived by her three children, Mark (spouse, Margaret), Dirk (spouse, Sandy), Christine (spouse, Jim who just passed in 2017), five grandchildren (Audrey, Andrew, Lee, Anthony, and Kelsey) and four great grandchildren who will all greatly miss her. Husband, Roy, passed away in 2007.